It Grew With a Bump
by NonaRose
Summary: Regina Mills owns a bakery in London, it's everything she ever dreamt of and now has it all, expect one thing she desperately longed for — a child. Sperm donor isn't an choice with her strict parents, so she turns to her only option, asking her friend's cousin to not only father her baby, but be her fake husband, too. Will that be it, or will love ensue as the days unfold? ModernAU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So I'm not sure where I got this idea from or how it popped into my head, but here we go! I hope you guys enjoy it and remember, your reviews is what keep me going (reviews is what keep all writers going, am I not right?)

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor it's characters. However, I do own the idea of this story and the characters that are unknown to you all.

 **A/N2:** All mistakes are mine.

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Married by 25.

Two kids by 30.

Living in her dream house with her husband, children and family dog was her dream.

But, as I mentioned. It's a _dream_.

Regina Mills, a 31 year old New Yorker who happens to own one of the many successful bakeries in London. By successful, I don't mean famous enough to surface the internet but successful as in despite the other modern bakeries, this rustic, home-style bakery stood it's ground regardless of everyone and everything that tried to bust it down.

This had been Regina's dream ever since she was a child, ever since her little hand took a hold of the balloon whisk and stirred the chocolate cake mix her aunt Eva asked her help with. Ever since her button-nose inhaled the scent of the baked goodies coming out freshly from the oven. She knew this is what she wanted to do when she grows up. She wanted to be a baker.

She began with simple and easy recipes, boxed cake mixes instead of starting out from scratch, it sounded much easier and everyone around her agreed yet still, she managed to burn the bottom every now and then. Strawberry cake was definitely her favorite, not because it was pink and most girls around that age loved pink (which she absolutely despised) it was because her aunt Eva would always surprise her and her older sister, Zelena with little strawberry cupcakes whilst growing up.

But as the time went by she dependent less on the ready cake mixes and found recipes to which she made her own by changing in them and adding a little bit of her touch. Soon she'd written her own personal cookbook that included most of her famous desserts. Oreo truffles -which was actually as simple as ABC- but her whole family seemed to be in love with it! Demanded it from her frequently.

Creamy banana pudding.

Dense honey-lavender cake with a thin layer of vanilla bean cream cheese frosting spread in-between.

Soft, gooey and chewy chocolate chip cookies and oh the list just goes on!

By the age of 25 she started up her own business with a little help from her parents but a little more from her aunt Eva and her husband Leo Blanchard. They provided her with whatever she needed, the ingredients, the supplies and also helped her with the shop's rental.

That was 6 years ago.

It's been 6 years since she'd announced the opening of her bakery. _The Forbidden Fruit_. Not only had she been a fan of Snow White and the seven dwarves but she _loved_ apples and this was fitting. She labeled things and paid attention to the little details, made sure her bakery was fun enough to attract not only the curious eyes of the adults but the little ones too.

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"Pick your poison" Regina beamed down at her little costumer. A toddler -from what she gathered- named Alex, an adorable little thing who couldn't be older than 3 years old. She had short brown hair, button nose and big green eyes that melted Regina's heart.

"Go on, honey, pick something" Her father urged her, giving her a light nudge toward the displayed baked goodies, "Others are waiting in line" He said and she looked up at him with her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

"I don't know" The little girl whined and the baker couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Do you like strawberries?" Regina asked and the little girl gave her a shy nod, chewing on her lower lip. "Well then you should try my all time favorite!" She exclaimed happily, crouching down to the girl's level and pointing at the strawberry cupcake, frosted with a swirl of her famous pure vanilla buttercream on top. "My auntie used to make this for me and my older sister all the time." The young baker explained and the little girl simply looked at her with her lips slightly parted in awe, her green eyes glancing back and forth at the woman and the cupcake before eventually turning her attention to her father.

"We can have whatever you want, sweetheart" Her father assured her and ruffled her silky hair, causing the little girl to giggle and nod her head eagerly at Regina.

"Strawberry" Alice agreed and Regina nodded, picking up the cupcake and carefully handing it over to her.

"Here you go, sweetie"

"What do we say, Alice?" Her father reminded, causing her to freeze with her tongue sticking out, just an inch away from the frosting.

She blushed and grinned sheepishly at Regina, taking a step back to lean against her father's legs, "Thank you"

"You're very welcome, Alice" Regina tapped the tip of the girl's nose lightly and stood up straight once more, smoothing out the wrinkles on the disney-style apron she wore.

It was designed similar to Snow White's dress, she'd found it online and immediately ordered for herself, just a little something for her to wear when she's back in the kitchen baking until one day she rushed out behind the counter and a little girl saw her, loved it and her mother right away assumed that this was the bakery's uniform, it certainly wasn't but she couldn't bring herself to correct neither the mother nor the daughter; she loved the attention it brought to her bakery and since that day every person that worked in her bakery owned their own apron of different disney princesses and other fairytale characters. It helped her bakery a lot that's certain.

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Just like everyday, this day had been tiring as well. It might have not been the busiest time of the year yet -and quite frankly neither of her or her employees looked forward to Halloween and Christmas- it was still crowded nevertheless. Regina slumped back against the armchair and kicked her feet up on the coffee table, she huffed out a breath and leaned her head back against the chair

"You know, you shouldn't do all the hard work on your own back in the kitchen." Ruby, one of her young employees suggested, tucking a stubborn brown strand behind her ear as she studied her boss.

" _You know_ I don't trust anyone back there, I can't help it" Regina argued. She learned a while ago that doing everything on her own is the best thing because depending on anyone else would only slow her down and ruin everything she'd worked hard for. It happened many times before she finally drew a line and began doing all the hard work on her own, from pre-heating the oven to breaking eggs, mixing the batter and pouring it into the buttered baking pans.

Ruby simply rolled her eyes at her boss and reached behind her to untie the strings of the _Little Red Riding Hood_ apron she'd chosen; it fit her quite well, everyone had told her that and not to mention, she made it clear that she _loves_ red and her name is basically Ruby, as the red precious stone. "So—" The brunette with the red-dyed strand smirked.

"So?" Regina cocked up an eyebrow at the younger woman who stared at her as if she'd been hiding a secret only she knew, "Ruby, what?"

"I saw you eyeing that hottie" Ruby began only to receive a confused expression from her boss, "The guy in the suit, the one with the little girl. Pretty green eyed brunette?" Yep, that did it. Regina groaned in frustration and closed her eyes.

"Are we really going there again, Rubes?"

"Going where?" The two brunettes turned there attention to the mysterious yet very familiar voice coming behind them, only to find Emma Swan walking toward them with a cheeky smile taking over half her face. "Hey Rubes, hey Reggie."

"Sheriff!" Ruby greeted her, teasingly.

"Emma" Regina whined, lowering her feet to the ground and sitting up straight on the chair. "Do _not_ call me, Reggie"

"Don't mind her, she's upset over the fact that she lost another opportunity." Ruby explained with a shrug, tearing a small piece off the leftover blueberry muffin and tossing it into her mouth.

"Ahh" Emma smirked, turning her attention to her friend. "Passed another man, was he hot?"

Before Regina was given the chance to speak, Ruby butted in. "Oh he was dreamy!" The young brunette exclaimed, "He's everything you'd want in a man—" **Oh no, there she goes again** , Regina thought to herself with a light groan. "He's dark haired, bright green eyes, dashing smile _and—"_ She paused.

"And?" The blonde sheriff asked.

"And he has a kid, are ya happy now?" Regina huffed out a breath and sank deeper into the leather armchair, throwing a glare at the laughing women.

"A kid" Emma spoke with amusement filling her tone and a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Why didn't you go for it, you like kids."

"Love. She _loves_ kids" Ruby corrected.

"Are you two even listening to yourselves?" The older brunette shook her head in disbelief, "How do you even know that he's not a married guy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Ruby.

"There was no ring" The younger brunette explained with a cheshire cat smile spreading across her face.

"He might not even be the girl's father, maybe he's her uncle and he's using her to get some women to warm his bed at night." Regina argued.

"Have you not paid attention? The girl looks exactly like him!" Ruby said.

"So?"

"Why are you so against dating?" Emma finally stepped forward and glanced down at her friend, "Everytime we try to set you up with someone, you refuse or make excuses" Regina huffed at Emma's words and turned her face to the other side, chewing the inside of her cheek. "And then you call me at 2am in the morning, telling me your apartment is so quiet and it's too lonely and that you want a kid."

"That's the point, Emma" Regina snapped, turning her attention back to the blonde. "I want a kid, not a man in my life. I can survive perfectly fine without a man sweeping me off my feet, all I need is a child to love."

"Then why not have one?" Ruby mumbled, receiving a glare from her boss.

"It's not that simple" Regina sighed.

"Regina's parents are really, really religious. They would most likely kill her if she goes out and has a child out of wedlock." Explained the blonde.

"Really?" Ruby stared at the two of them in disbelief and Regina breathed out a soft laugh, shaking her head.

"They wont kill me but they would sure disown me"

The brunette looked the older woman and gave her a sympathetic smile, which she certainly did not need. "Then why don't you adopt a kid instead?"

"Because I want to actually feel a child grow inside of me, I wanna go through that experience, the whole morning sickness, cravings, first kicks and ultrasound appointments. I want it all" The young baker explained with sadness visible in her voice.

For a moment there was nothing but silence in the room until Ruby broke it, "Have you ever considered fake-marrying a man?" She began and both the older brunette and the blonde looked at her confusedly as if she was explaining to them a mathematical problem. "Like, you surely heard of those who get married for the green card in America, right?" Regina nodded her head, "How about you marry a man, make a deal with him about the baby and all?"

"Wait" Regina sat up and leaned forward, "You're asking me that I should approach a man, make a deal with him to marry me and have a child with me but that's it? and divorce him afterwards?" Ruby grinned from ear to ear and nodded her head.

"That's a stupid idea, Rubes" Emma scoffed.

"No" Regina responded and both of the women with her in the room looked at her with a shocked expression, "That's a really good idea."

"Regina, you can't be serious!" The blonde protested that idea but her friend only looked up at her with a smile curling on her red lips.

"I'm dead serious and I know exactly who it should be."

"Who?" Both Emma and Ruby asked at once, glanced at one another then back at Regina.

"Robin"

Emma's eyes widened and for a moment she forgot how to breathe.

"Who's Robin?" Ruby asked.

"He's my cousin" Emma said, glancing at the young brunette and thickly swallowing the lump that formed in her throat before returning her attention to her clearly-crazy friend. "Regina if you're expecting me to go and ask him, you're wrong."

"Oh no I'm right, Swan you owe this to me" Regina looked at her pleadingly. "He owes me too, I saved his ass years ago."

"Regina—"

"Emma please, you know how much this means to me" Indeed the blonde did, she'd known Regina ever since 5th grade, they've been through many ups and downs together and she was basically the sister she never had, they were family and family help each other; right? **Right**.

"I'll tell him—" Emma paused for a moment when she saw Regina beam at her, "But I can't promise you anything."

"Thank you!" Regina jumped off the chair and threw her arms around her friend's neck, hugging her tightly despite the fact she was the one who had always hated being hugged. "Thank you so much, Em."

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He tossed and turned on his bed, sleep refused to come easily to him and now that it has, it wont stay and all because of a damn phone call. He threw back his covers and reached to his side, his fingers tapping the top of the wooden nightstand until they made contact with the screen of his iPhone. He grunted and swiped to answer, placing the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He spoke, his voice heavy with sleep.

 _"_ _Hey, did I wake you up?"_

"Yes, and it better be bloody important, Emma."

 _"_ _Robin, do you remember my friend, Regina Mills?"_

And there goes his sleep, he sat up on his bed and leaned his bare back against the headboard of his bed. "Yes, how could I forget her, she helped me get this job."

 _"_ _Yeah well…she needs a favor from you."_

"Is she alright?" His accented voice was immediately filled with concern, he too had seen Regina as a friend after what she done for him so it was natural to worry about her.

 _"_ _She's perfectly fine"_

"Aye, what is it then?"

 _"_ _I'm going straight to the point"_

"Might be the better thing to do right now, Em." Robin glared despite knowing she wont be able to see him.

 _"_ _She wants a baby and a fake husband"_

"Wait…what?!"

 _"_ _She wants you to father her child and be her fake husband, listen I'll be at your place in five minutes and we can talk about this. I'll explain to you everything, I promise."_

Before the 33 year old man was able to process what had just happened after being pulled out of his peaceful nap at 8pm, the phone went dead and his cousin hung up whilst he sat, his lips parted and his blue eyes widened in shock.

Was he just asked to father the child of the woman his cousin's best friend? and marry her too?

Oh boy…

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 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! I hope you guys liked it, please don't forget to review, they mean so much to me!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Oh my! I didn't expect this much respond to this but I gotta say I'm thrilled! Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed. My Roses you guys are the best!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor it's characters. However, I do own the idea of this story and the characters that are unknown to you all.

 **A/N2:** All mistakes are mine and to the Guest that asked about my tumblr, unfortunately I don't have one, however I do have twitter and an ask . fm and I will write them at the end of this chapter to whoever is interested to follow me and ask me all sort of questions whether it's regarding the story itself or just for fun!

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"No, absolutely not"

Robin refused. How could he accept to marry a woman, father her child then divorce her and leave both her and _his_ child? Absolutely not, he's a man with honor as a code and that means abandoning his own family isn't an option but this woman, this crazy woman is asking him to do just that.

"Robin, without her you would've been living on the streets" Emma argued but he still refused, shaking his head in disapproval. "She allowed you to stay in her house, she got you that job."

"And I will forever be thankful for that Emma but are you listening to yourself?" Robin asked, looking straight into his cousin's eyes. "You're asking me to be her _fake_ husband, give her a child then get out of both of their lives. You're asking me to leave _my_ child behind!"

Emma sighed. He had a point and she understood all too well what he meant. Robin was raised to be a man who's responsible and he grew up being a man who would care about the little things in life and often put someone else's happiness before his.

"Why doesn't she just find a person donor instead of going through the effort of _marrying_ a man, get knocked up then divorcing him?" Robin said, running his fingers through his sandy blonde hair in frustration.

"Because her parents wont accept a child out of wedlock," Emma muttered, lowering her gaze to her hand and sinking deeper into the mattress of his bed. "They wont accept _her_ , they would disown her and you know just how much her family mean to her."

"I do" Robin whispered, looking down at his own hands clasped together. He was torn between doing the right thing and doing what's best for her; but would this really be the best for her? To get married, have a child only raise on her own?

"You know, if you would wanna be in the baby's life then tell her, I'm sure she won't refuse." Emma spoke as if she'd read his mind but it was simple, she her cousin enough to know exactly what he was thinking of at the moment. She'd grown with him, he was the brother she never had; of course she'd understand him, perhaps even more than he does himself.

"Alright"

"Alright?" Emma gaped at him, his respond surprised her. He was so against the thought and all the sudden he agrees to it? "You'll do it?"

"No" Robin paused, "alright as in I'll talk to her and—and we'll see." He explained and Emma simply nodded her head.

"Do you want me to text her and tell her that you wanna meet her?" The blonde suggested and he gave her a single nod, "When do you wanna meet her then?" She muttered, her fingers dancing around her iPhone's touchscreen keyboard.

"Now"

"Now—Robin what?!" Emma's head shot up and she looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you crazy? Right now?!" She stammered in disbelief.

"But she's not asleep" He reasoned, "I highly doubt se'd be asleep at what—" Robin glanced over at the digital watch on his nightstand and continued. "8:43" He arched up a brow to which Emma rolled her eyes at. "She's still living at the same building, right?"

"Yes" She mumbled, knowing for sure that this was a bad idea, a mistake that shouldn't happen because their personalities were different from one another.

Regina was strong, stubborn and sometimes hurtful without noticing, her friend was outgoing, crazy without a doubt and…free, Regina was free but Robin, the poor guy is nothing like that. Though he was confident around others, Emma noticed he wasn't around Regina, as if he feared her but who would blame him? She too feared her best friend sometimes.

Robin was mostly shy, the type of a man who would stutter in the middle of ordering his coffee, he'd rather stay home instead of going out to the pub, downing a few shots or pints of beer. The Brit would sugar-coat things or find another way to tell a person the truth, a way that wouldn't be hurtful unlike Regina, she spat venom whenever she reached her limit.

"Robin, why don't you go on another day instead?"

"Because I don't want to" He answered her, straight forward with the truth while shrugging on his jacket and zipping it up. Robin flashed his cousin a cheeky grin, waved goodbye and left his house.

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Robin made his way down the busy streets of London, passing by the crowded Oxford that was filled with tourist from all over the globe either sightseeing - apparently the buildings were very interesting that they felt the need to snap pictures of them - or shopping, most of who visited London were loaded with cash.

With his hands tucked inside of his pockets, he walked down Edgware Road and toward Regina's building, he passed by the supermarket, pharmacy and turned left, walking past the casino and around the corner stood the building she lived in, the building that sheltered him for a couple of weeks until he was able to stand on his own. Robin eyed the building for a moment, rethinking about whether or not this was a good idea before finally stepping inside. He was greeted by the same doorman that had been around two years back and surprisingly, he remembered him.

"Just here to see Miss Mills" Robin explained as he walked past the older man who gave him a single nod and flashed him a friendly smile.

He stood impatiently inside of the elevator, turning his head back and glancing at the mirror behind him every now and then; **why must she live at the last level?** Robin sighed, breathing out a sigh of relief when a sound echoed throughout the empty elevator indicating his arrival to the 12th floor. Robin stepped out and walked straight to her apartment, he knocked and waited for the _fun_ to begin.

The young baker returned home after a quick stop by the grocery, getting what she needed for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. Oddly, she'd been craving seafood -which she certainly wasn't on her favorite food list- however she stuck to a plate of sushi rolls and some french fries to munch on later that evening.

Regina slipped out of her work uniform and into comfy oversized sweater and pajama shorts before moving on to her dinner. She sat down on the couch, folded her legs on top of each other and got comfortable, breaking the chopsticks apart before reaching forward for a roll when her door was knocked. "Really?" She muttered with a sigh, bringing the roll to her lips and tossing it into her mouth anyways.

She tucked a loose raven lock behind her ear and chewed as she walked over over down the small hallway, her apartment wasn't luxurious by any mean, it wasn't big either but it was a perfect size for her. With two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a small kitchen, it was perfect for the price she was paying every month. "Just a second" Regina called out, unlocking the door before pulling it open only to be struck by a surprise that never crossed her mind. "Robin?" She spoke, thickly swallowing the bite she'd been chewing.

"Regina" The Brit greeted with a nervous smile of his own.

"What a pleasant surprise" Regina said, offering him a small smile as she felt a blush rise over her neck and to her cheeks.

"Yes, it seems like today's full of surprise." He agreed and Regina's eyes widened, knowing exactly what he meant. "May I come in? I believe there's a matter you'd want us to discuss?" He politely asked, stuttering every too often because how could he not when a gorgeous woman stood infront of him wearing nothing but shorts that mostly disappeared under the oversized sweater.

Regina took a step back and held the door wider, "Please, come in" she said, inviting him into her little home to which he thanked her and walked in, removing his jacket and draping it over his arm when she offered to hang it for him instead, at first he refused but she insisted and he gave in to her. Oh how easy was it to agree to everything she says, **this is going to be challenging** , he thought to himself.

"I hope I'm not disturbing" Robin said, apologizing in advance and she shook her head, offering him a seat.

"You're not, however I just began eating dinner. Would you like some?" Regina smiled, pointing at the plate of sushi rolls and he shook his head, thanking her but kindly declining. "So—"

Robin chewed on the inside of his cheek and glanced down at his hands when she spoke. "So" he parroted in a whisper.

"Emma told you, didn't she?"

"She did" He confirmed.

"I didn't actually think she'd go with it" She chuckled softly, losing her appetite almost instantly after being confirmed that he's aware of the conversation that went between her and his cousin.

Robin could've started with something simple, perhaps a smile to ease the tension but he wasn't sure how to react in such situation therefore as soon as he opened his mouth, he wished he hadn't. "Why me?" his question surprised Regina, but perhaps not as much as it should.

"Because I've known you for some time and Emma's my best friend and I—I trust you," Regina trailed off before quickly adding. "I mean, more than any other men who would be total strangers. You lived under the same roof as I did a couple years back and it just feels safer this way" She shrugged her shoulders.

Robin sighed and she lowered her head, chewing nervously on her bottom lip because she knew, what she's asking for is too much. " _If_ I agreed to this, would you care to explain further about the whole situation? How long would be married for, how would we live and the baby."

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and nodded her head, "Until after the baby's born and I have two bedrooms therefore you can sleep in the other and—what about the baby?" Regina cut herself off when his question about the baby processed to her mind after a moment.

"If I'm going to do this, I'm not going to get out of the baby's life just because we're going to get a divorce." Robin stated firmly, not only did he surprise her by the tone he spoke in, but he even surprised himself.

"Debatable" She whispered and he shook his head.

"No, not debatable, Regina. This is going to be _my_ child just as much as it would be _yours_ and I _want_ to be in the baby's life."

Regina ran her fingers through her short hair and exhaled a deep sigh, "Alright"

"Alright?" He asked to make sure he read the right word and she nodded her head, confirming it to him. "But I have one condition?" Her snapped up and she looked at him, raising an eyebrow that had his blue eyes widen, yep there it was that frightening glance.

"Shoot" Regina said.

"If we're going to have a child together, we'll do it the right way" He stuttered.

"Right way?" The young baker questioned almost sarcastically and he nodded his head, feeling his cheeks burn into a shade of red.

"I wont just hand you my sperm in a container and tell you to go and get it injected into you." He said and she couldn't help but breathe out a laugh at it.

"Fine, the right way it is then, Locksley but that's it. It'll just be sex."

"Just sex" Robin repeated and she nodded her head, looking at him with a smile curling on her lips.

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 **A/N:** I apologize that this chapter wasn't as long as I thought it would be, I was just too eager to post it and I felt guilty to have all of you wait! To whoever is interested my twitter is ( /Nona_AM) and my ask . fm is ( /NonaRose_) I would also like to tell you that my other story This Is the Beginning would be updated sometime this week however Beautiful Harmony is on hiatus for the time being.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** You guuuuuuuys! You have no idea just how happy you make me! I love LOVE reading all the reviews you leave me, it makes me incredibly happy! I'm sorry for the slow updates, I am currently working on my other story Beautiful Harmony as well as I've caught a flu over the last almost two weeks, made it quite a struggle but here I am, presenting to you this new chapter!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor it's characters. However, I do own the idea of this story and the characters that are unknown to you all.

 **A/N2:** Alright there will be two chapters about Halloween, this one and it'll continue in the next one and— brace yourselves! — They might or might not have sex in the next chapter ;) Plus, all mistakes are mine.

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Things had been sorted between the two, the subject was brought up and discussed, they both agreed to each others terms, each of them laid their own rules and conditions.

Robin refused the idea of donating his _stuff_ to her, told that if they were going to have a child with one another then they will have the baby the right way, and that meant sex. Regina hesitated at first but soon agreed, however she strictly demanded that it'll be _just_ sex, nothing more than that.

She told him _her_ rules.

Rule number one " **No kissing** "

Rule number two " **Don't take your time to explore my body** "

And rule number three " **We do it with the lights off** "

It wasn't because she was insecure about her body, she loved her body infact however, she believed that it'll make things easier and less awkward. Robin agreed.

He returned home less nervous and quite excited actually and Regina slept with a rested mind.

"So?" The blonde asked with a mouthful of bear claws, one of her favorite sweet goodies that her friend prepares.

"So?" Regina parroted, glancing over shoulder at her friend as she continued mixing the brownie batter, stirring the thick, chocolatey mixture with a wooden spoon.

"What happened after Robin came over?"

"Well, we talked-"

"Obviously" Emma cut her off and muttered, receiving a glare from the brunette.

"He agreed"

"He what?" The blonde gaped at her friend, the half-eaten bear claw stopped midair in her hand.

"He agreed" Regina repeated, grabbing her rubber spatula she began pouring the brownie mixture into the buttered square pan.

"Are you serious? But how?" Emma placed down her pastry and wiped her fingers with a napkin before tossing it aside. "He refused when I told him, and I mean like _really_ refused like he was against the whole thing."

Regina frowned slightly at the thought of Robin refusing at first and rightfully so, what man would want to marry a woman who wouldn't love him? "He told me he wanted to be in the baby's life so I agreed."

"You did?" Emma asked and Regina nodded silently, picking up the pan and sliding it into the pre-heated oven. "That's all? He agreed to being your fake husband and give you a child because you'll let him be a part of the baby's life?"

"That's not all" Regina whispered, not loud enough to be heard by anyone except herself but Emma, being the sheriff she was able to catch it.

"What else?"

"Trust me, Emma. You wouldn't wanna know"

"Oh come on, of course I wanna know, you're going to marry my cousin _and_ have his kid in the future." Emma said and Regina thought quietly for a moment, should she tell the blonde and traumatize her? Yes, maybe that'll teach her how to stop being so nosey.

"He doesn't want to give me his sperm, he wants us to have sex." Regina blurted out and turned around only to find her friend staring at her with eyes wide enough, she feared they might pop out of her skull. "He says he wants to do it the right way, I don't how donating his sperm is wrong but I agreed." She shrugged one shoulder and bit back a smirk.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but you were right, I didn't want to hear this and I'm sorry." Emma confessed, earning a laugh from her friend. "I really need to go, get these images of my best friend and my cousin out of my head."

"Bye, Swan" The brunette wiped the sweat forming on her forehead before giving her a slight wave.

"Bye, Mills" Emma awkwardly stumbled out of the kitchen and walked out of her friend's bakery. Having her rather shy cousin ask her bold best friend for sex was something she would've never expected.

Regina on the other hand found it rather pleasing to traumatize her friend, she deserved it for being too nosey about things that doesn't very much concern her although, in a way it did. After all it was her cousin's child she'd be carrying.

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The young baker's day went rather smoothly despite it being the day before Halloween, surprisingly more costumers came in, bought and left. Soon whatever she had in display alongside her Halloween special was gone before the end of the day and it pleased her, made her feel proud of herself. Now Regina was known for her crazy ideas and experimenting the night before Halloween, she would try new recipes up until midnight then send in an email to her employees, asking them exactly what to wear and what get ready for the day after. Emma was her lab-rat however, tonight it was someone else even she didn't expected.

"Robin?" Regina gaped at the man standing before her, shyly glancing away. What was it with him that he refused to look her in the eyes? She honestly didn't know. "What are you doing here?"

"Emma asked me to, she said she couldn't come tonight and that she's quite busy." Robin said, lightly scratching the back of his neck.

"That bitch" Regina muttered and huffed out a breath. She knew all too well that Emma wasn't busy, the blonde was just running away from being her lab-rat for tonight, after all, she did swear that last year would be the last time she's dragged into this. "I can't believe she actually went with it!"

"Went with what?" Robin stuttered confusedly.

"She was supposed to be here because every year I try new recipes for the bakery and she has to try them, last year I—I accidentally gave her a brownie that I added salt instead of sugar in and she swore she'd never do it again." Regina explained and by the end of her sentence, she looked over at Robin who was biting his lip too hard just to stop himself from laughing. The poor guy seemed like he was about to burst so she waved a hand and sighed, "Go on, just laugh" and he did.

And she laughed along with him.

Regina stepped back and invited him in to which he did without thinking twice, **that's a first** , she thought and closed the door behind him.

"So it means I'll be the one tasting all the goodies tonight?" Robin said, looking down at her with a rather large smile, almost a grin, Regina noted and gave him a nod of confirmation.

"Well, I think since your Emma's cousin, you'll have strong tastebuds as hers." She teased and he shrugged, following her toward the kitchen.

"Wow, you've made all of this?" He stopped infront of the kitchen's island, his blue eyes taking in the beautifully decorated baked goodies laying infront of him. He looked up at her and found her smiling at him. "Alright, explain them to me and I shall start eating!"

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Regina chuckled and pushed a cupcake infront of him. "Devil's horns" She explained and he glanced down at the cupcake, waiting for her to continue. "Black velvet cake, also known as chocolate cake with black dye coloring" The brunette pointed at the spongy cake layer before lifting her finger to the red frosting. "White chocolate buttercream frosting, a few drops of bright red food coloring and last but not least-" She paused and pointed at the two chocolate pieces sticking out from the frosting. "Horns, made out of tiny cake pops dipped in dark chocolate."

Robin stared at her in amusement as she explained, he found it adorable as she went on about a simple cupcake. He never thought he'd be captivated by the way she spoke about the thing she loved most. "It really looks good" He admitted, receiving a grin from her. Robin picked up the cupcake, carefully removed the wrapper before taking a large bite, making sure to get both of the frosting and cake, not one without the other. He moaned and she smiled, taking that sign as an approval from him.

"Is it good?" She asked and he held up his thumb. Gentlemen always chew with their mouths shut and they don't speak with their mouths full, that's what his mother always told him.

The pair moved from one dessert after another, she made him try everything she prepared and planned on keeping him a little longer so they could figure out together which ones to keep and which ones to let go.

She sliced him a piece of the pumpkin loaf that was filled with a decent amount of cream cheese in the middle and fed him a witch's finger; not an actual finger of course. Just a green biscuit shaped as a witch's finger. They kept going until he shook his head and placed a hand infront of his mouth, begging her not feed him anything else and she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Robin, just one more thing" She promised and he groaned, his stomach turning at the mention of another sweet thing.

"I get it know, I know exactly why Em ran away from this and boy was she lucky." He teased and she punched his arm in return. The Brit hesitantly brought the ghost shaped marshmallow to his mouth and took a small bite when she glared at him, making him take a bigger bite. The sweet, fluffy marshmallow instantly melted in his mouth and it had some sort of a fruity taste. Apples perhaps? He couldn't quite figure it out.

"Apple cider marshmallows, not for children" Regina spoke as if she read his mind, she winked at him and he chuckled, tossing the rest of the ghost into his mouth.

"It's good" He reassured, swallowing the last bit of it. "Everything's really good."

"I hate to break it out to you but, we're not done yet." Her words made his eyes widen and she laughed, "You wont be eating anything else, that'll be optional however this part is a little harder than it seems." Regina warned him and he immediately agreed to help her, claiming that if it doesn't require eating then it should be a piece of cake, pun intended.

Sadly, he was wrong.

The two sat close to each other, both of them focusing on the notebook infront of them, she had a pen between her fingers and he squinted his eyes, pointing at one dessert after another. "Maybe you should keep the marshmallows, I mean I would love them, I'd most probably buy a few bags of them." He admitted and she agreed, adding the marshmallows to the list of what she's preparing for tomorrow.

"The witch's fingers would catch the children's attention." She muttered, chewing at the end of the pen.

"They really would and they're quite tasty"

"How about the pumpkin and cheesecake loaf?" She asked.

"Is that what it is? Cheesecake?" He said, looking at her and she nodded her head. "You're brilliant, you should definitely keep it, it's delicious."

It went on for a few long minutes and they ended up keeping five items and removing the rest. Upon Robin's demand, she kept the Apple cider ghost marshmallows and Pumpkin cheesecake loaf. She chose three of her liking as well, three of what he happened to like too. The devil's horns cupcake, graveyard pudding and last but not least Candy corn shaped sugar cookies. Now she knew very well that not everyone was a fan of candy corn, she didn't like them all that much either but this way, people liked them. She added little bits of the actual candy into the mixture and that gave it extra flavor, so far no one had said a bad thing about it.

"Hey Regina?"

"Hmmm"

"Happy Halloween" Robin said through a yawn and the brunette's eyes quickly landed on the clock hanging on the wall of her livingroom. **Shit** , it was past midnight and she kept the poor guy with her until now.

"Robin, I'm so sorry—" She started but he cut her off almost instantly.

"It's fine" He assured her, flashing her a bright yet sleepy smile. "You don't have to apologize, I rather enjoyed this night."

"But it's last, you can't possibly drive back home nor walk, you would most likely fall asleep the minute you stand up." Regina noted when she saw how heavy his eyes have grown. "At least stay for tonight, my couch's comfortable." She offered and he laughed.

"And here I was thinking you'd offer me the other side of your bed." Robin said and immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth, she could tell by the way his cheeks went bright red.

"Eager to knock me up I see?" She lifted one eyebrow and he looked away, if she was right he probably turned even redder.

Then there was silence for a moment before he broke it, clearing his throat and turning to look at her with a nervous smile curled on his lips. "If you don't mind, I'd like a pillow and a blanket"

"Pillow and blanket, coming right up!" Regina gave his thigh a pat before gathering the papers off the coffee table, she stuck the pen between her teeth and carried herself to her bedroom. The brunette returned with a soft pillow and a thick blanket to keep him warm. "Here you go, if you need anything, just holler" He nodded his head and wished her a goodnight, she'd done the same before disappearing down the hallway.

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The lights were turned off, her apartment was as silent as it could be. The only thing she was hearing was the sirens of the police cars passing by her building but it wasn't something unusual; the perks of living in London, she thought. She heard them every night that it became almost as a lullaby to her, in order to sleep she must at least hear a couple of them.

But tonight she stayed awake and all because of that man that slept on her couch. He made her feel less lonely and honestly, it frightened her.

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 **A/N:** Thank you all and I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter, again I apologize for my mistakes. Please don't forget to review, they mean the most to me and I really love hearing from you, My Roses! If you have ideas or anything, share them with me, I'd love to hear that too!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** This has to be the longest chapter I've written for this story but you guys deserve it for putting a huge smile on my face everyday! So here you go, another chapter for you to enjoy and ahem…smut ahead _but_ please be easy on me, this is my first time actually writing smut that's a little detailed, I'm not proud of it because I believe it sucks big time (no pun intended, I swear) but I hope you enjoy it anyways!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor it's characters. However, I do own the idea of this story and the characters that are unknown to you all.

 **A/N2:** I don't have a beta therefore all mistakes are mine.

 **A/N3 (UPDATED):** Thank you so much for the reviews but I most importantly want to thank the guest who pointed out that Ruby was oblivious to the fact that Robin is the fake husband even though she was the one who suggested it in the first place. I want apologize because my mind had been all of the place lately, sleep had been coming to me in the wrong times therefore I can't really focus on what I say anymore lmao but thank you for pointing it out. I hadn't changed it and I don't intend to but I'll be adding a conversation between Regina and Ruby in the next chapter regarding that point.

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The young baker woke up earlier than usual that morning to get ready for the day ahead. It was Halloween and it meant dressing up, which also meant taking more time to apply makeup because it wouldn't just be a little bit of lipgloss and eyeshadow, it would mean getting creative and thankfully, her costume didn't require that much of her as it did with the others.

Ruby urged her to be the Evil Queen from Snow White and the seven dwarves but Regina refused that idea, why would she dress after someone who is absolutely hated? Even by her. Instead, she stuck to being Snow White herself.

Now Regina didn't consider this a _sexy_ type of Snow White dress but it surely wasn't the same old boring classic one, perhaps it was something a little in between. It wasn't short enough to be considering something used to seduce men however it would surely catch the attention of some. The yellow skirt of it reached just above her white-stockings covered knees, the upper blue part of it hugged her curves perfectly, revealing the true shape of her waist. Her arms were covered were covered up to her forearm in red gloves, the same shade of the red pumps she wore on her feet and the ribbon tied around her head; she'd also trimmed her hair shorter not because of the costume itself but because she'd been wanting to for quite some time, leaving her raven hair brushing along her shoulders instead. She loved it and that's what mattered, right?

She puckered her lips and applied a layer of red lipstick along her plump lips, resting the burgundy stick over the scar on her upper lip for a moment before brushing over it in attempt to cover it, she's never been a fan of that scar. She curled her long lashes and thickened them with mascara, dusted a light pink blush over her cheeks and took her time when it came to the eyeliner; getting the cat-eye look wasn't the most easiest thing, it took her some time to get it but she finally got it and managed to make both almost as perfect and identical as possible.

By 7am she was all done, she glanced at herself one last time in the mirror before rushing out of her room and into the livingroom only to find Robin already up and ready, standing in her kitchen and fixing himself a cup of coffee. He certainly made himself home, Regina thought and cleared her throat to get his attention.

Robin hovered the pot over the cup when she cleared her throat, already feeling slightly embarrassed that he'd gotten himself rather comfortable in _her_ home, made coffee without asking for permission whether or not he could. His already red face reddened more when he turned around, his blue eyes drinking her and oh my was he getting drunk on the sight of her. He thickly swallowed the lump that formed in his throat but it was her who broke the silence.

"Cat got your tongue, Locksley?" She smirked, his crimson red cheeks not gone unnoticed by her.

"I'm sorry I just—did you cut your hair?" He interrupted his own sentence and asked with a lifted brow.

"How nice of you to notice" Regina's words rolled off the tip of her tongue with a hint of sarcasm to which he noticed but decided to ignore.

"You look good though" He quickly said, earning himself a smile from her. "I mean, the whole costume and all look good on you but the short hair, it's also quite nice. I rather it longer because your curls were beautiful but you know, it's your hair therefore it's your choice." Robin rambled on and he would've continued if her phone hadn't cut him off, beeping and announcing an arrival of a new text message. He noticed how Regina simply ignored it and continued staring at him, he awkwardly looked away and poured himself a cup. "Coffee, Mills?"

"As much as I'd love one, I can't. It'll just ruin my makeup and I really don't time to wash lipstick stains off my mugs." She sighed and sat on the stool, swinging her legs for a few moments before crossing them on top of each other.

"I can do it" He volunteered, hearing a chuckle from behind him. Robin turned to face her, ask her why was she laughing at his suggestion but she beat him to it and explained.

"Oh no, I'm not leaving you behind, Locksley. You're leaving the instant I step out of that door."

"Ouch" He mocked, placing a hand over his heart and pretending to be hurt by her words. "Do you really not trust me with your apartment?"

"Sadly, I don't"

"I am your soon-to-be husband" He exclaimed, " _and_ I'd be fathering your child, how can you not trust me enough to stay behind an additional few minutes to wash a cup?" Regina rolled her eyes but she couldn't help herself from smiling at his foolishness, she liked being around him and he was a good friend; he _is_ her friend, right? **Yes, he is**.

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After a couple of minutes of thinking Regina agreed and he did end up cleaning after her, carefully wiping off the lipstick stain she left behind before inviting himself to walk with her to work, claiming that he had the day off today and he would like to know her better. "You know, when people ask us stuff about how we met and why we got married." He said and she agreed to bring him along however she warned him that if he is going to stick around until the rest of the day, he has to be as quiet as possible.

Regina set up the rules and limits for him the instant he walked behind her into the bakery's kitchen. She told him that he is allowed back here but away from the oven and anything edible before quickly adding the inedible things too; she really couldn't trust the man enough to let him anywhere near her balloon whisk even, who knows what he might end up doing with it?

"You're allowed to roam around the bakery but do _not_ disturb my costumers" She said and he crossed his heart and hoped to die if he does and she receives a complain about him. It made her laugh; picking _him_ as the father of her child was a good idea, Regina thought as her hand drifted to her flat stomach. She couldn't wait until it happens.

The younger baker busied herself in the kitchen as Robin talked with her employees, she could hear both his laughter and Ruby's faintly in the kitchen and she didn't know what to think about it, she was jealous but was she jealous of the fact that Ruby was speaking to _him_ or was she jealous of the fact that they were having more fun than she is? Yes, she was definitely jealous of them having more fun than she is.

"So, how long have you known Regina?" The younger brunette asked, toying with a single lock she'd dyed red a while ago.

"Quite a while actually, I've always known _about_ her through my cousin, Emma but I've only met her a few years ago." Robin explained, his eyes looking up and down the young lady's costume, it was a bit more revealing than Regina's, a sexy version of Little (not so little) Red Riding Hood indeed but not extreme to make it unsuitable to wear around children, at least did reveal too much of her cleavage.

"Are you two…a thing?" Ruby said, a smirk tugging at the corner of her red painted lips.

"We're just-" Robin started in attempt to correct her but he was interrupted by Regina coming between them to stock up the freshly baked slices of the pumpkin loaf.

"We are" The young baker said, flashing Ruby a smile and wrapping an arm around Robin's waist. "We're actually getting married soon too, right babe?"

"Hmm..what? Oh yes, we are" Robin confirmed the lie, nervously smiling at the younger brunette before narrowing his eyes at Regina.

"Funny, she never mentioned this" Ruby eyed the couple.

"Because I like to keep my private life, private." Regina said with a glare that made Ruby take a step back.

"Well congratulations to the two of you."

"Thank you, Ruby" Regina smiled, lifting her head up to glance at Robin the instant the younger brunette walked away. "We should convince people."

"That wasn't part of the deal" Robin snapped.

"Keep it down, Locksley" Regina warned and he immediately lowered his voice to a whisper.

"You never mentioned me being your husband except infront of your parents." The Brit furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms infront of his chest.

"But my parents like to chat, they like to gather information which means they would most likely storm in with questions for Ruby and the others, which is why we should keep it as real as possible." Regina said and he sighed; as much as he hated to admit it, she had a good point.

"Alright fine, I guess that means I must buy you a ring." He teased, earning an eye roll from the brunette. "Let me see your hand" He offered but she looked at him as if he was crazy, some lunatic who'd escaped an asylum. "Give me your hand, Regina" He repeated, firmly this time and she did, placing her hand on top of his.

"You don't have to get me a ring, Locksley, I can very well afford a cheap one for now." She said before quickly adding, "They would never guess."

"I insist, that's the least I could do if we're not going to have a real wedding." Robin muttered, studying her finger to figure out the size of the ring he should be buying.

"Robin—"

"Shush" He hushed her softly and continued observing her slim finger, his fingers lightly touching it before eventually letting go. He looked up at her and smiled in a way that showed his dimples and drove her crazy. How could she have not noticed them before?

"Robin?" Regina whispered and he hummed in response before looking up to meet her gaze. "Thank you" She smiled sincerely.

"You're welcome" He mirrored her smile, only a little wider.

* * *

The rest of the day went rather quick, they closed off earlier than usual due to it being a holiday, some had children to watch after and some were planning on partying until dawn, which wasn't the wisest idea because coming to work hungover isn't fun. However, Ruby thought otherwise.

"Have a good evening, Regina" Ashely, her blonde employee waved goodbye to return home to her husband and daughter; Regina had met the little girl a couple of times, Alexandra, such a precious little thing.

"Say hello to Sean and give little Alex a kiss from me" Regina called out after the blonde dressed as Cinderella who she chuckled in return, promising her to do just that before disappearing out of the bakery.

"I'm out, boss!" Ruby said, placing her name tag on the table for Regina to collect and place back in the box.

"Have a good night, Rubes but be careful, I mean it don't drink too much."

"Yes, mother" The younger brunette mocked and Regina scoffed, shaking her head with a playful smile on her face as she watched her friend walk out eagerly.

"Well I guess I'm off too, _boss_ " Robin smirked, teasing her by using the same word Ruby had done just a moment ago.

"Goodnight, Robin" Regina's respond was simple and quick that it confused Robin, made him wonder if he'd something wrong because she turned her back on him all the sudden.

"I was kidding, Regina" He walked behind her and smiled, glancing down at the paper she'd been scribbling on. "I'm walking you home, have to make sure the woman who would carry my child gets home safely."

"Robin there's no need for you to do that, I can walk myself home" She argued but he silenced her with a glare. She sighed and closed the notebook, slipping it in the drawer before turning around to face him. "Fine, but before we head home I'm going somewhere." She said and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Lead the way, _wife_ "

The pair left the bakery shortly after the conversation took place, he helped her shrug on the long coat over herself and she closed up, locking the doors and securing them before following him down the streets of London. It wasn't as busy as usual and only a few houses were decorated, a few kids here and there were knocking on doors asking for trick or treats and she found it absolutely adorable, they were dressed in different types of costumes. Some girls were princesses and others dressed differently, animals and other creative things, some costumes were based off TV shows and movies. Boys alike but superheroes instead of Princes.

"So what have you got in there?" Robin said, breaking the silence that had landed upon them.

"Here?" Regina asked, holding up the two bags she had in both hands and he nodded his head. "Leftovers for the homeless. I don't like throwing the rest of it away, I mean why should I when I could easily feed others by it?" She questioned and he looked at her, impressed by her personality and the fact that she thought of others, it wasn't a very usual thing especially here in London.

"That's very nice of you, is that where we're going now?" He asked and she nodded her head, smiling at him.

The two of them walked by the alley where most homeless people gathered at by the evening, she'd been noticing them over the years, it was like their roofless home. They would all meet in that spot and spend the night like a family of their own, dine with whatever they're able to find before sleeping only to get up the next day and start begging for a penny just to feed themselves or the young ones; it saddened her which is why she was thankful for what she had, a roof to sleep under, a warm bed and food to fill her stomach. Things she found simple but they found incredibly luxurious.

Robin stood back and watched as his Regina, _since when had she become his?_ He shook his head and watched her as she handed out the leftovers to them, he noticed that she'd also brought other things that weren't exactly on today's menu or on display in the bakery, for example the cheesy breads and other savory pastries that she brought along the sweets. He watched her interact with the little ones and speak to their parents; she was an absolute angel.

"I'll see you all tomorrow" Regina excused herself and stood up straight on her feet, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her coat only to be surprised by one of the little ones crashing herself to her legs, wrapping her small arms around Regina's legs.

"Thank you" The child whispered and Regina lowered her hand to her head, stroking it gently.

"You're very welcome, sweetheart."

Robin stared in awe at the woman he now calls friend, or wife, whichever she preferred really but he gaped at her. He made the right decision when he agreed to father her child, she would make a wonderful mother; he just knew that.

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"My feet are killing me!" Regina groaned, kicking off her heels to the side as she entered her apartment, followed by Robin.

"Would you like a foot rub?" He offered.

"Foot rub?" She turned around and looked at him with a lifted brow and he nodded his head.

"Yes, a foot rub. You lay down and I massage your feet for you."

"Well, I suppose it'll be good and since you offered, why not?" Regina grinned cheekily and blobbed herself down on the couch, leaning against the edge of it as Robin followed, settling himself on the other side of the couch and bringing her legs over on his lap, resting her feet on his thighs. "I must warn you though, I'm a little ticklish."

"I'll be careful" He chuckled and gently began pressing his fingertips along her right feet, rubbing and hitting _that_ spot that made her moan at the pleasure she was receiving. "Good enough, milady?" She hummed at his question and rested her head back against the couch.

Robin continued working the magic his fingers had, rubbing and massaging both of her feet, of course she flinched a couple of times and giggled when his fingers brushed over certain areas that were a little too much for her to handle but aside from it, she seemed relaxed.

"Regina?"

She hummed softly, "Yes?"

"Would—would you like to try tonight?" His words came out almost as a whisper but she managed to hear them as she opened her eyes and looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite read very well. "I mean, I'm just wondering but we don't have to rush anything."

"Aren't you tired?" She dismissed his question by asking one of her own to which he answered to with a shrug. "I'm not tired" She whispered, pulling her lower lip between her teeth.

"So…would you like to?" He hesitantly asked again and she went silent for a moment before nodding her head. Robin smiled and placed her feet down on the couch, he stood up on his feet and before she realized it, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up in a way a husband would carry his wife. She felt butterflies fluttering around in her stomach and her heart was racing as he carried her to her bedroom.

She was as light as a feather, Robin noticed while gently laying her down on the bed. Now they agreed, the lights would be dimmed and kissing was strictly not allowed; unfortunately, he wanted nothing more than to kiss the lipstick off her plump lips but he had to play by her rules no matter how hard they were, after all she wasn't interested in _him_ but in his sperm.

"Lights" Regina reminded him breathlessly and he nodded his head, walked over to the switches and flicked the main lights off, leaving the small lamp on the top of the front wall on. It lit up the room but not quite however it was more than enough for her liking. At least he would get a glimpse of her face if he stares hard enough.

"Do you want me to take off your clothes or would you do that yourself?" He said, hearing a chuckle from her that made him blush out of embarrassment.

"Either way as long as you don't go kissing me and showing me love" Regina teased him and what she hadn't expected happened. She felt his hands on her, brushing over her breasts and making her gasp.

"Regina?" He whispered in the dark, squinting his eyes down at her in attempt to see her face and if he accidentally did something he isn't supposed to. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine"

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Robin now can we please continue before things get awkward?" She pleaded and he nodded his head despite knowing she can't see it. He moved his hands behind her back and lifted her off the bed, just enough to find the zipper of her dress and lower it when she stopped him.

"No wait, perhaps we should leave that on" She suggested.

"Regina, that's not the right way" He argued, "I'm not going to fuck you and leave you as if you're worth nothing." But she pleaded him, telling him she's just not comfortable exposing herself fully to him. Robin didn't approve of this but he agreed to her anyways.

He ran his hand up her thighs and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her pantyhose, tugging it down and rolling it off her slender legs before tossing it aside to the floor, soon her panties followed and what surprised him is that when his fingers made contact with the thin fabric, he found it damp. Robin closed his eyes and sucked in a harsh breath, he wanted to devour her, cherish and worship her body.

"You're wet"

"Yes no shit, Sherlock. That tends to happen" She responded sarcastically and he huffed back, rolling his eyes.

Robin fumbled with his jeans, he unbuckled his belt and pulled down the zipper before pulling the garment down his feet and tossing it to meet her pantyhose on the floor. He climbed on top of her and held himself up not to squash her with his weight but oh how hard was it not to press his body against hers, feel her breasts against his chest, bury his face in her hair and kiss his way down her neck, his lips were aching to brush over her soft skin, at least once though it wouldn't be enough.

"Are you ready?"

"No, but lets do it" Regina responded truthfully, her heart wildly beating in her chest.

"Regina—"

"No, its do it, Robin" She repeated, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck and spreading his legs apart.

He was rock hard just at the thought of being inside her, at the thought of his length covered in her arousal and oh god it was too much to handle. Robin buried his face in the crook of her neck despite her not approving the intimacy that came with it and positioned himself at her entrance, he heard her gasp as his tip teased her. "Are you ready?" He asked again to be sure and she nodded her head, tightening her grip on him slightly.

With one swift movement Robin slid into her, filling her to the hilt and she gasped, feeling his stretch her inner muscles, ones that hadn't been used in a while.

"Fuck" She breathed out, scraping her nails up his back.

"What?" He whispered, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear as he stilled himself inside of her.

"You're bigger than I thought" She admitted, making him chuckle lightly before nuzzling his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampooed hair. It smelled like apples, perhaps with a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla mixed along with it from the time she spent back in the kitchen but it smelled divine nonetheless.

"Tell me when you're ready" He whispered and she nodded her head. While she adjusted to his size, he couldn't help himself from pressing feather-light kisses along her jaw, he knew it was off limited but he couldn't stop himself from doing that, how could anyone not kiss her? She was perfect, beautiful and stunning in every way.

"I'm ready"

And with him given the permission to continue, he pulled himself out of her inch by inch before plunging back in with a force that made her gasp. Her bright brown eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted slightly at the pleasure he was giving her. If only he could see what he was doing to her.

Regina tried her best not to make any sort of sound seeing as she shouldn't be enjoying this, he wasn't here to make love to her nor was this a meaningful sex, he was basically just donating his sperm to her in the traditional way and nothing more but he was filling her so deliciously well, brushing against all the right places that it was impossible not to moan. She choked back her moans and stifled her cries by biting down on her lower lip but as he picked up his pace and began thrusting faster in and out of her, she couldn't hold back any longer and the moans began to freely leave her throat.

Of course as any man, Robin too felt proud of himself that he managed to please her enough and make her moan despite her saying that she wouldn't but what made him happy is that he actually got to hear her, and she sounded wonderful as she gasped out a few _ahh_ and _oh god_ but it wasn't enough, he wanted her to enjoy as much as he was right now.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with enjoying sex, Regina." He rasped in her ear and she whimpered faintly at the way her name left his mouth, she wanted to enjoy it and very much so but part of her refused, telling her this wasn't something she should enjoy.

Robin slid an arm between their bodies and lowered his hand down between her legs, "What are you doing?" She breathed out and he answered her by hushing her softly and flicking his thumb over her sensitive nub, causing her to jerk under his touch and gasp. "Robin" She moaned and cursed herself silently, cursed her body for being unable of controlling itself.

"Enjoy it" He whispered into her ear and began rubbing tight circles over her clit, causing her orgasm to build up rather quickly.

For one who vowed not to enjoy sex with this man, her moans were filling the bedroom, the sound of their skin slapping against one another's echoed throughout the walls of it. She couldn't believe her own ears when she began begging him to go harder on her, "I'm close" She pleaded him and he didn't disappoint. His thrusts became harder, he shifted into a different angle and spread her legs a little further apart only to plunge deeper inside of her, making her eyes roll to the back of her head. Regina's back arched up as he thrusted into her one last time before exploding, shooting his seed inside of her and she followed a moment after, her walls tightening and clenching around him, milking every last drop of him.

Their bodies were covered in a thin layer of sweat as he laid on top of her, his clothed chest pressing against her own, he was careful not to put much of his weight on top of her but just enough to show her that's he's here, that this was real. He waited for himself to soften before pressing a lingering kiss on her temple and pulling out and falling back down on the other side of the bed. Though he couldn't see the details of her face and body, he saw how her breasts rose and fill with every deep breath she was taking.

"Regina?"

She hummed in respond.

"Thank you"

"What for?" She asked, turning her face to the side to look at him.

"For agreeing on letting me be in the baby's life" He whispered and she smiled softly at his words. Though she hadn't excepted from him to run away after knocking her up, she didn't expect him to offer help raising the baby either. "I just—I'm not the type of a man who would run away from responsibility so I do want to be in the baby's life, help you in every possible way, so thank you."

"No" She closed her eyes and placed her hand on top of her stomach. "Thank _you_ agreeing to give me a child, Robin."

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize again for the badly written smut, I was never into writing detailed smut I don't know why but I found it rather exciting to actually try it and ended up with that. I hope it was good enough though and I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of it, it makes me so happy!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guys are seriously THE BEST! Words cannot express how much I love you all. Please enjoy this chapter and in A/N2 your questions will be replied :) Also, all mistakes are mine.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor it's characters. However, I do own the idea of this story and the characters that are unknown to you all.

 **A/N2:** Skip if you do not wish to read the replies to the reviews :)

 **Apple26:** You will figure this out in the next chapter.

 **Regina Locksley Mills:** More smut will be coming up, in the next chapter! And thank you.

 **Sparkle21:** Thank you so much! :D

 **Henley B:** Oh they will be practicing alright ;)

 **ForeverJulie:** Well I won't confirm nor deny if she is pregnant or not, but I can say they will be 'trying' a few more times.

 **PhoebeSmilee:** Thank youuu!

 **StaticStanatic:** Thank you very much! :D

 **Guest no1:** Thank you for the compliments and I can assure you the baby wont be a Roland nor a Henry, I still haven't even decided if it'll be one child or two, a girl or a boy but we'll see what happens as the story progresses.

 **THE D.E.V.R.O.N:** I've not thought about whether or not the baby will be just one or two, but we shall see ;)

 **Emily:** I love all my reviewers but you, you always bring a smile to my face! Oh I could imagine that ;) Thank you!

 **Guest no2:** Again, thank you so much for pointing out that Ruby thing! I've been sick lately and barely getting enough sleep, so it confused me but hopefully everything makes sense in this chapter.

 **Guest no3:** Gave you more! ;)

 **solemnjillian:** It's my first time actually writing smut in this way, which is why I felt a little insecure about it but all of the reviews I got regarding it made me so happy! And thank you so much for your kind words! :D

 **RegalBeliever:** Happy Once day to you too! Thank you for your kind words and *spoiler*

…Third time's a charm ;)

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"Wait a minute! Robin isn't your husband."

"He's my fiancé, Ruby"

"No, he's not even that!" Ruby stood in front of her boss with one hand on her hip and furrowed eyebrows. "He's _Robin_! Emma's cousin, the guy who is going to play your fake husband!"

Regina laughed in amusement and leaned back against the kitchen island, folding her arms and tucking them beneath her breasts. "It took you long enough to realize that," The young baker smirked when her friend groaned at her own stupidity, cussing silently. "You were drunk yesterday, weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged" Ruby confessed, glancing up at her boss and flashing her an innocent smile however, knowing her very well Regina didn't exactly buy that smile of hers.

"As your boss, I should fire you but as your friend I'm giving you another chance, but you gotta promise me that you'll stop being irresponsible, Rubes." Regina said, her playfulness replaced by seriousness which Ruby obviously picked up from her tone as she lowered her in slight embarrassment and sighed. "I just don't want to come to work one day and hear from one of the girls that something happened to you."

"I know" Ruby whispered.

"Good" Regina took a step closer to her friend and laid her hand on her bicep, giving it a gentle squeeze along with a little smile drawn on her face. "Now get your ass out there, the clock's ticking and the costumers are starting to show up."

The younger brunette's frowned turned upside down into a smile and she pressed her right hand against the side of her forehead as a salutation gesture. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Ruby exclaimed, she marched out of the kitchen and around the counter she stood, greeting their usual costumers and the newcomers.

Regina couldn't help herself from laughing, she loved Ruby as if she were her little sister, she looked after her, or at least she tried.

She'd been told Ruby's rather sad story by the young brunette's grandmother, Granny Lucas. The old lady explained to Regina that she knew all too well how rebellious her granddaughter could be and the reason behind it was because she lost both her parents at a very young age, so young she could barely remember anything of them. It made it hard for Granny to have any sort of control over her granddaughter which is why she turned to Regina once she learned that Ruby works for her. "Be as strict as you have to be with her." Granny Lucas said, giving Regina the full permission to scold Ruby if needed despite her not being a child anymore. "But please don't give up on her, she needs friends like you, child."

And since that day Regina became responsible for Ruby's actions, she would scold her every now and then, she had already yelled at her a few times too and even though it angered Ruby, she loosened up a little and began pulling away from her bad habits. Regina was no longer called in the middle of the night to come and pick a very wasted young lady who could barely stand on her wobbly legs from a pub and the young brunette stopped showing up two hours before the bakery's closing time however drinking was still a problem, not as big as it used to be but still a problem nevertheless.

Regina was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of the door being knocked, she turned around on her heels only to find that same British man who shared her bed last night, standing with a cheeky grin taking over half his face, and it made her smile.

"May I, Mills?" He asked and she nodded her head, gesturing him to come in. "I didn't think of you as a flower type of a girl—"

"Woman" Regina cut him off and corrected him with an eye roll.

"Woman—" He chuckled and placed in front of her a disposable cup of Starbucks coffee. "However, I do know you like coffee and I happened to remember how you liked yours."

"Is that so?" Regina lifted a brow and smiled, wrapping her fingers around the paper-cup and he nodded his head, "and how do I like my coffee, Locksley?"

"I would've said hot as I am but I would probably get smacked for it."

"Wise" She smirked.

Robin laughed and leaned his back against the kitchen island, "Americano with three packets of sugar and a dash of cream." He answered and she smiled, nodding her head at his correct answer which made him smile proudly and puff out his chest.

"What else have you been observing about me?" The brunette lifted a brow and brought the cup close to her lips, she puckered them slightly and took a careful sip of the steaming hot, dark liquid. She felt it burn down her throat before settling warmly in her belly; this is exactly what she needed in this weather.

"Well not that I've noticed much last night other than the fact that you're a screamer—Ouch!" His sentence was cut short when she swatted his arm. "What was that for?"

"Just because" Regina smirked, taking another sip.

"And I've also noticed that you're quite a meanie, hitting me like that for no reason." Robin pouted and she rolled her eyes at his playfulness. "But if my memory doesn't fail me, I remember finding you always sleeping on your stomach while hugging the pillow, I also noticed that despite you owning a bakery that sells mostly sweet things, you much prefer salty things."

Regina was impressed, she truly was. He really did know a couple of things about her but again, the man lived with her for a while back when he was homeless therefore he was bound to discover a few things about her. "Impressive, Locksley" She praised.

"Want me to continue?"

"Oh? You've picked up a few more things about me?"

"I have" Robin confirmed with a single nod.

"Go on then" Regina set her coffee to the side and returned to getting a few things done around her kitchen. She checked on the white chocolate, carrot muffins that were baking in the oven before rinsing the mixing bowls, washing them clean and setting aside to dry off.

"You get these little moods at night, where all the sudden you'd stand infront of the mirror and start doing your hair or put a bit of make-up and talk to yourself." He smirked seeing the change in Regina's body language, by the way she moved and how she avoided making eye contact with him it indicated that was embarrassed by what he said. "I found it rather adorable actually." Robin assured.

"How many times have you seen that?"

"Well—" Robin paused for a moment, and despite having her back turned at him Regina could feel that bastard smirking at her. "I witnessed the day you got that new burgundy colored lipstick, as well as the day you brushed your hair and ended up putting a little bow." He said before quickly adding, "Also that one time where you pretended you're doing a cook show, I think you were explaining how to bake that famous molten lava cake of yours."

Regina slowly lifted her head up and looked at him with a deadpanned expression, her cheeks faintly painted in the color red.

"Want me to carry on?"

"No, I think you proved your point." Regina said, causing the Brit to laugh out loud and she bit back a smile of her own. There was something about that laugh of his that always made her smile even though she didn't want to.

* * *

The rest of her day went by slow, perhaps because unlike the other days she had something to look forward to today. Robin promised her dinner tonight before leaving shortly after their conversation, reassured her that it wasn't a date but two friends simply dining and spending time with one another but she hesitated so "We'll talk about us, get to know each other. We can't be a married couple without knowing much of one another" He said, reasoning with her and that made her agree.

Regina was impatient, she rocked back and forth on her heels, huffed out a breath every so often and glanced at the apple shaped clock that was hanging on her kitchen wall every couple of minutes. If time would just pass by faster and the little arrow would rest upon the number 7 already. She huffed, again.

"What's gotten into you?" Ruby asked, walking behind her and setting the empty tray on the countertop of the kitchen island, lifting one perfectly manicured eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" The young baker asked, clearly playing dumb.

"You know what I mean, Reggie. You've been huffing non-stop and watching the clock like you've got somewhere to be." Ruby said with a hinting tone that didn't go unnoticed by Regina, however she simply ignored it.

"I just wanna get home, my feet are killing me and I have a headache." Regina lied, refilling the tray with the slices of the carrot cake; one of her favorite cakes.

Ruby waited for Regina to finish filling the tray once again with the cake slices before picking it up and balancing it on one hand. "You know, if you continue thinking about him all the time, even _you_ might believe that you're in love with him."

The young baker sighed, she knew her friend was right but she couldn't help it, though she knew she would _never_ fall in love with him, she still found it hard to stop thinking about him. His dimpled smile, his sweet laugh and scent, somehow he smelt like forest and oddly enough, Regina didn't mind that.

After sending out the last batch of the cookies, Regina began tidying up her kitchen, tossing the whisks and bowls into the sink and turning off the ovens. She grabbed the sponge from the side and began to rinse and wash every object that piled up on one side of the sink before placing them on the rack to dry.

"Regina?"

A voice behind her snapped her thoughts back to reality and she turned to face a grinning blonde, she wiped dry her hands on her apron before smiling herself. "Yes, Ashely?"

"I hope you haven't forgotten about tonight" The blonde said, rolling a strand of her hair around her finger while chewing nervously on her lower lip.

"Tonight?" Regina asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah, remember a week ago when I told you Sean asked me out on a date night?" Ashley said and Regina nodded her head, she crossed her arms infront of her chest and listened. "I asked you if you could watch Alex for us and you agreed"

"I did" Regina whispered, a hint of disappointment in her voice. How could she have forgotten about babysitting the little girl? "I forgot, Ashely I'm so sorry"

"You're busy, aren't you?"

"Yeah" The brunette whispered, "But you know what, don't worry about it, I'd love nothing more than to look after Alexandra." Regina assured with a smile but Ashley couldn't help but feel guilty about the situation, she tried to argue and tell her boss that she and Sean could always go on another date but Regina insisted on watching their daughter.

Despite the guilt that was filling the blonde, she agreed and told Regina that they would be dropping Alex half an hour after closing up. At least it would give Regina enough time to shower and change into something more comfortable and cosy.

 _-I can't come over tonight, I forgot that I have to babysit my friend's daughter :(_

Regina typed out and sent the text to Robin, hoping he would be understanding about the situation. Not a minute after, her phone went off announcing an arrival of text message.

 _-That's fine milady, perhaps we can have dinner sometime else? xxx_

 _-Unfortunately, I'm busy this week which means I will most probably fall asleep in the middle of the dinner. Maybe next week?_

 _-Oh…_

 _Well I suppose I can settle for bringing you coffee in the morning until then ;)_

 _-Lol sure thing, Locksley._

 _-See you in the morning then, princess._

 _-Princess? Darling, I prefer a queen ;)_

 _-Queen it is then, milady xxx_

Regina found herself smiling at the conversation that went on between her and that man who was driving her crazy, in more than one way.

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"These are both of our numbers, she has enough diapers and inside her bag you'll find a paper, just a few notes explaining everything you need to know from how to fix her a bottle to what she needs after a bath—"

"Ashely!" Regina interrupted her with a light chuckle as she bounced the infant in her arms. "We'll be fine, honestly" She assured and looked down at the little girl who stared up at her in wonder, "We'll be doing just fine, right?"

The blonde breathed out a nervous laugh before nodding her head, "I'm sorry, it's just this is the first time I actually leave her alone."

"Understandable" Regina muttered, placing her hand at the back of the child's head and lightly stroking it. "But we'll be okay and if anything - God forbids - happens, I'll call you or Sean."

That seemed to put the blonde's mind to rest, soon after she kissed her daughter goodbye and thanked Regina again before hurrying out of the apartment, careful not to be late on their reservation.

"Aren't you a little sweetheart" Regina cooed at the little girl, closing the door and locking it. She walked toward the couch with the baby's bag on her shoulder before setting down on the coffee table.

It had been a long time since she babysat but it'll be interesting, it'll prepare her for when she does have one of her own, hopefully, soon.

Regina's hand drifted down to her flat stomach and rubbed it lightly, hoping one of his swimmers made its way into her womb and broke into an egg. Only time could tell if that happened.

* * *

The sun had set about fives hours ago and though she was on the last floor, she could still hear the faint noises of the people crossing the streets below her — apparently having more fun than she is whether they were making their way toward the nearby pub or the casino just a walk away from her building. There was something about London that she loved so much, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was exactly. Perhaps how lively it gets at night? But, New York was just the same. It certainly wasn't the weather, it was just as cold back home, perhaps even colder. But she loved it here, here is where she felt like she belongs. Here, she felt like home.

Regina laid on her side looking down at the sleeping baby laying on her bed. Her breathing was even and she snorted lightly; which Regina found absolutely adorable. The brunette placed one hand over Alexandra's belly and rubbed it in a soothing motion. She curled to her side and pressed a soft kiss to the top of the baby's head as sleep slowly started to claim her. Though she was starving and it was only 9 o'clock, she was incredibly tired after spending the whole day baking in the kitchen, sending out one batch after another of different varieties of baked goodies.

Regina yawned softly, closed her eyes and—

The doorbell rang through her apartment, startling the infant. Regina instantly calmed her down by hushing her and rubbing her belly, once Alexandra nodded off again the young baker rolled off her bed and slipped on her slippers, silently praying that whoever was out there wouldn't ring the bell again and wake the baby. "One second" She called out quietly as she walked toward the door. She unlocked the door and yawned softly as she pulled open the door, her half-closed eyes widening at the sight before her.

"Robin?"

"At your service, Mills!" He said, beaming at her and inviting himself into her apartment without waiting for her permission. "Seeing as you have to babysit tonight and couldn't very well have dinner with me, I brought dinner here!" Robin laid the takeout boxes of Chinese food on the coffee table before pointing at the plastic bags beside them, "and I stopped by the supermarket and got us some cakes for dessert" He paused, scratching the back of his head before exclaiming and making Regina jump. "Wine, I also brought wine."

Now that caught Regina's attention, the word _wine_ itself made her forget that just a minute ago she was fighting sleep, that she could pass out wherever she might be laying or sitting down. Just as her outfit caught Robin's attention, despite the cold weather they were experiencing, she wore shorts that were almost completely covered under the oversized sweater she wore, her long, olive-toned legs exposed to him and it took everything in him not to throw her down on the couch and ravish her like she deserves. He wanted nothing more than to kiss his way up both her legs, sneak a few pecks in her inner thighs too.

"Robin?"

He hummed in response and looked at her.

"Gone somewhere nice?" She asked with a smirk and he looked at her with a confused expression taking over his face. "I've been calling you a few times, but you weren't listening."

He scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously before shaking his head, "I was just thinking about something, anyways what were you saying, milady?"

"I was saying, we should take the food to my bedroom instead. Alexandra is sleeping in there." Regina explained, picking a couple of the plastic bag before he beat her to the rest of them.

"Are you certain you would want food in your bedroom?" He asked cautiously, picking up their food and following her as she nodded her head.

"We'll be eating on the floor and I can easily clean up the carpet later on, just don't spill wine on it." She warned him.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He teased, drawing a sweet laugh from her.

The pair laid a blanket down on the carpet just to be extra cautious before settling the food and themselves on top of it. While she munched on the stir-fry, he took a few bites of the sweet and sour chicken and the fried rice. They mostly ate in silence but exchanged a few words every now then, after all, the whole purpose of this dinner was for them to talk about themselves. They discussed further regarding the baby's subject and it turned out to be a sweet little conversation. Regina admitted that she wanted a girl, though she wouldn't mind one bit if the baby is a boy but Robin said he wanted a girl, a little _princess_ to spoil with loads of kisses and toys to which Regina responded with an eye roll, warning him not to spoil their child to the limit of them growing up to be ungrateful little beings.

However, their conversations were cut short when Alexandra stirred on the bed before letting them know that she was wide awake and hungry by crying. "I'll get her" Robin offered, wiping his hands on a piece of napkin before tossing it aside. He stood up on his feet and made his way toward the bed, leaning above it he gently picked up the crying infant, hushing her softly while laying her against his chest. "There, there" He whispered and Regina's heart skipped a beat; never had she realized how attractive he was until she saw him holding the baby.

"You'll find everything you need to make her a bottle in her bag." Regina explained, pointing her finger toward the pink bag on the corner of the room.

Robin walked over and hoisted the strap over his shoulder, he then walked back to the bed and sat on the edge of it while laying the baby on his lap, lightly moving his legs to calm her by the rocking motion. "How old is she?" He asked, smiling down at the infant while swiftly fixing up a bottle for her.

"Almost four months old"

Robin nodded his head and looked over at the note, scanning it with his eyes to see if he had done the formula exactly how it was written when he realized he added a little less what than it's supposed to be. He grabbed a bottle of water that was included in the bag and twisted the cap off, he poured a little more before cheerfully announcing to Alexandra, "All done!" Now what Regina didn't know is that he had as much experience with children as she does, he often babysat for his friend and looked after his daughter whenever he and his wife would go on a date or simply a getaway to keep the spark between them going. And it worked.

The food was long forgotten when Regina watched him cradle the baby and feed her, it was a scene she would love to see more of it and she knew, she would once she carries their child. The brunette chewed on her bottom lip to hold back a wide smile, she tilted her head to the side and watched him interact with Alexandra, and she knew. She truly did pick the perfect man to be the father of her child.

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 **A/N:** I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to review because your reviews are what keep me going.

Lots of love,

N.R


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Your reviews never cease to make me happy, it brightens my day and makes me smile, almost cried too once because of how wonderful you all are. So thank you again.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are unknown in the Once Fandom.

 **A/N2:** Sadly, this chapter doesn't include smut (I know, I know) but I promise, the next one does and if anyone would be kind enough to help me with it, I'll be forever grateful to you. Nuff said, carry on! and oh! All mistakes are mine.

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Dinner was quickly eaten. Robin multitasked between feeding Alexandra and himself, he had her laid on his lap, one hand holding up the bottle for her whilst the other scooped up some food to his mouth. Thankfully, the infant fell asleep shortly after and he laid her on his chest, patted her back lightly until she burped before laying her back down on his lap to continue his dinner.

Regina's eyes didn't leave Robin, she studied just how gentle he was with the infant, how he would soothe her the instant she flinches to the faintest noises and it warmed her heart, her mind often went back and forth making images of him with _their_ child.

The bliss of silence didn't stay for too long, Alexandra woke up fussy a few minutes after they have eaten the cakes Robin brought for dessert, "I'll handle her," he insisted, picking the 4 months old baby and cradling her close in his large arms. He lightly bounced her and rocked her back and forth, it calmed her but only for a brief moment.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry her instead?" Regina asked, lifting a brow and he shook his head, dropping a kiss to the top of the baby's head. "Fine then, I'll just go and do the dishes."

Robin watched as she left her room after gathering the plates and piling them up on top of each other before sliding one glass into the other and tossing the forks inside of them, he looked down at Alexandra who stared up at him calmly, her blue eyes twinkling with unshed tears that were soon forgotten when he began talking to her, telling her the tale of a beautiful princess who happened to have helped a prince, it was an odd story but a beautiful one, something out of the ordinary and that's exactly what made it great.

It didn't take Alexandra more than 5 minutes to fall back asleep with the pacifier in her mouth, moving and letting out squeaky noises whenever she moved her mouth and sucked on it. Robin too was falling asleep, there was no denying just how hard he was fighting to keep his eyes open but there is nothing greater than sleep and it eventually it took over him just a minutes after.

Regina returned back into her bedroom to find the two of them sleeping peacefully, soft snoring coming from both Robin and the baby and she bit back a smile at the scene before her. There laid the father of her potential baby with an infant on his chest, his large hand securely place on top of the baby's back to ensure she doesn't roll off him or perhaps just an act of comfort. Either way, it did things to her.

It made her heart beat faster in her chest, caused the butterflies in her stomach to stir and come to life and if Emma was standing right beside her, she would've probably pointed out that she had the same look on her face when she's baking right now while looking at Robin. The look of being passionate about something. Or in this case, someone.

The young baker tiptoed toward her bed and carefully picked Alexandra from Robin's chest, the little girl jumped at the sudden move but Regina rocked her back to sleep. She walked over and placed her down at the little bassinet Ashley brought along, she gently tucked her in and made sure the blanket is thick enough to keep her warm in this cold weather, she placed a feather-light kiss on Alexandra's head then made her way back toward the sleeping Brit. She stood with an arm tucked underneath her breasts as she watched him, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth; should she or shouldn't she wake him up and kick him out of her apartment?

She'll let him stay, what's the harm in letting him have a sleepover tonight too?

Her fingers curled around the blanket, she lifted it and covered him and truthfully, she expected him to move but he was knocked out completely and it made her chuckle, his mouth was slightly opened, still snoring, a little louder this time.

Her fingers curled around the thick quilt and tugged at it, lifting it and laying it on top of Robin's sleeping form. She expected him to move but was knocked out completely and it made her snicker; his mouth was slightly opened, he was still snoring and a little louder now but she found it cute. Found _him_ cute. She dipped down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, "Goodnight, Locksley" she whispered.

* * *

 **Where am I?** was his first thought when he opened his eyes, or at least tried. The lights were too bright and for a moment he wondered if he'd died and gone to Heaven because of the brightness of the room. Robin stretched his arms above his head and groaned but stopping halfway through it, he stilled and lifted a brow— His back? Usually, every morning it would crack and ache but weird…it felt just fine. He blinked surprisingly before turning his attention toward the door as it opened and a brunette walked in, knocking the air straight out of his lungs.

Who gave her the permission to walk in wearing nothing but a towel around her body? That sinful body of hers, he could see a few droplets roll down those slender legs of hers and darn it— he instantly pulled the quilt to cover the tent caused by the bulge in his pants. "Regina?"

She hummed in response with her back still turned toward him, she pulled open the closet doors and began looking through her clothes for todays outfit.

"I slept here last night?" He asked, his voice still heavy with sleep.

"You did" She confirmed.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because it was late, and you seemed really tired."

Damn her and her answers, he rolled his eyes at her and watched as she pulled out a short sleeved, black and white dress that looked like it would reach her knees, perhaps a little longer but only by a couple of inches. "If I slept in your bed, where did you sleep?"

The brunette turned around and looked at him, holding out the black and white dress against her body, "Does this look nice? I bought it a few days ago." Robin rubbed his temples but nodded his head at her, was she really oblivious to what she was doing to him? Turning around and looking at him, asking him such innocent questions that made it harder for him to control himself. "I slept with you of course, what did you think? that I'd sleep on the couch?" She snorted out a light chuckle and his blue eyes grew wide, his pants felt twice as tight and he groaned.

Robin slumped back onto the bed and rubbed his hands over his face, muttering some curses which she shrugged off with an eye roll.

"I'm going to work soon, make yourself at home — since you already have — then see yourself out, Locksley." Regina said, hiding behind the closet door to change, she dropped her towel and clasped on her bra, she pulled on a matching red panties before slipping on her dress.

"You're actually trusting me with your apartment?" He shot up straight and looked at her just as she walked over to him and sat down on his lap, wiggling in a way that tempted him to just push her off him. "Regina!"

"What!?" She turned and shot him a glare, that simple yet very effective look silenced him immediately. "You think I can't feel you poking my ass? Well I can, I'm not here to give you a lap dance now just zip up my dress." before she quickly added, "Please" and turned around again.

If she could only see how red his face had become and how wide his blue eyes grew, she would most probably laugh uncontrollably at him. He lifted his shaky hands and rested the left one her lower back whilst his right one pulled up the zipper and how smooth her milky, flawless skin was didn't go unnoticed by him. He swallowed thickly the lump that formed in his throat before dropping his hands to his lap. "Done" He whispered.

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you a little help with that?" She asked as she stood up, Robin looked at her with confusion until she glanced down at his growing bulge and his eyes widened once again. "I won't be spreading my legs again, Locksley and I surely wont be taking you in my mouth, I was simply offering you a handjob."

Robin groaned at her offer, she said in a way that sounded so innocent yet was far from it. "No" he choked out and Regina shrugged her shoulders, told him to suit himself, she turned away to put the final touches before leaving for work.

Now he had the whole apartment for himself, he could very well take care of the problem he had but it didn't feel right doing it in a house that wasn't his, especially without her around. He cursed himself for falling asleep in her apartment, in her bed and by her side. The woman wanted a child not a partner, she clearly didn't need a man in her life but he couldn't help it, he was…falling for her.

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 **Three weeks later**

It had been a minute, an exact minute since Regina had peed on a pregnancy test disguised as a piece of stick; are these even accurate? She sighed and paced back and forth, going in and out of the bathroom until Emma stopped her, "You're giving me a headache, Regina" the blonde grumbled.

"I'm sorry" The young baker apologized in a heartbeat, she flopped down on the toilet seat and frowned. "I'm just nervous"

"Of course you are, Reggie" Emma sighed heavily and sat down on the floor by her friend, she placed her hand on Regina's knee and gave it a light rub. "The instructions say wait 5 minutes, so now we just wait."

5 minutes, they said.

To Regina it felt like pure torture of 5 hours instead but as soon as the time was up, she didn't dare to look. "You tell me" she insisted and Emma did without hesitation. The blonde picked up the stick and glared down at it, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"What does one line mean?"

And the brunette's heart sank. Negative.

"It means I'm not pregnant" She frowned, taking the stick from Emma for confirmation before tossing it in the trash.

"You guys just slept with each other once—"

"Twice" Regina interrupted and corrected.

"Wait…what?" The blonde's green eyes grew wide, "I thought you said it was only that night, on Halloween."

"It was" Regina confirmed

Emma sighed and shook her head, "I didn't mean how many rounds, Reggie, I meant how many _times_ you've actually done it, as in different nights."

"Once" Regina then whispered, lowering her head in disappointment.

"Are you going to tell Robin that you took a test?"

"Why should I?" The brunette snapped, her eye boring into her friend's green ones, "It's negative, Emma, he doesn't even need to know."

It was for the best not to argue with her, Emma knew better than to do that with Regina especially when she's angered over something so she simply nodded her head and tried her best to comfort Regina, "It'll happen, might take a couple more tries but it will happen."

And Regina only hoped so, she didn't know how many more times she could sleep with that man without developing some feelings for him. They've just done it once and her whole world turn upside down, they became too close just in a matter of a month and it frightened her; she never felt this way toward a man before and she was determined that she wont start now.

* * *

"Is everything alright?" Robin said, hurrying into the kitchen and toward the brunette who was leaning against the kitchen island, her arms wrapped around herself small figure. "I came as soon as you called, Regina what's wrong?"

She'd been mentally preparing herself on how to start, part of her told her that she could still back out, make another excuse to why she called him and told him to meet her in the bakery as soon as he could but after debating on this subject back and forth with herself, she realized he deserved to know about it.

Regina wetted her lips and nodded her head, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth either; everything was alright, in way. "My period is late—" she began, lowering her gaze as fast as possible when she saw just how his eyes lit up. **God he'll be disappointed** , she thought.

"You're pregnant?" His voice was barely audible but she heard him, he stepped closer and took a hold of her hands, an act that surprised her but she didn't pull her hands away.

As fast as his smile grew, it disappeared when she shook her head, "I'm not" she whispered, sucking her lower lip between her teeth. "I thought I was and I took a test yesterday but it was negative, I took two more and they were both the same."

Robin could hear the sadness in her voice, he never knew how much she actually wanted a child until now. "Hey" he whispered, bringing one of his hands to her face he brushed a strand behind her ear, "It'll happen" he promised.

"I know" She said, lifting her gaze to meet his and he smiled at her, flashed her a gentle smile.

"We'll try again" Robin said, lowering his hand to her cheek he caressed it softly, "Let us try again" He leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead and she nodded her head.

Frightening as it may be. She wanted to try again, with him.

* * *

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 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it, my Roses. Please don't forget to review, it means a lot to me knowing what your thoughts on the chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Firstly, I wanna thank everyone who reviewed, you guys ROCK! I seriously love you all. Secondly, I wanna apologize for taking too long but things have happened and I needed to give my full attention to my life rather than my writings and last but not least, all mistakes are mine AND I'm going to rant a bit in A/N2 so if you don't wanna read it (It's OUAT related) then go ahead and skip it, my Roses.

Also to **OQLover:** I actually thought this through, at first I considered having them actually get married but then I settled with the idea of them just playing pretend :)

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are unknown in the Once Fandom.

 **A/N2:** Ooookay! So, a lot of people have been complaining about how Once is going and personally, I don't see why. I think so far Adam and Eddy are doing a great job. I love where the show's going, I love the plot twists and everything, yes that includes the fact that Zelena had a daughter. I'm a huge OQ shipper and as much as it bothered me that Zelena was even pregnant, I'm not going to stop watching the whole show because of that; the fact that people are threatening to do that because of _this_ is very childish in my opinion. So what that we asked for a girl OQ baby but got a Wicked daughter instead? Perhaps Adam and Eddy have something else in mind which is why they have given them a daughter. Anyhow, I don't know about you all but I'm a Oncer before I became an OQ shipper and whatever happens to Robin and Regina, I will continue watching the show because it gave me hope. This was the whole point of the show anyways and not to fulfill your darkest fantasies or whatever (That's why Fanfic exists).

 **Warning:** Mentions of underage sexual assault. Nothing graphic but if you don't wanna read it, skip the last paragraph after the smut.

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* * *

This was something she's going to regret. Regina simply knew that.

She was leaving her bakery in the hands of another, her most trusty employee, Aurora but she still had doubts, she still worried.

"I've read the recipe book 5 times so far, Regina." Aurora whined. She knew her boss was anxious about leaving someone else in charge of her bakery, she'd never done that except a couple of times and both of those times it was her aunt Eva that would take over, unfortunately she couldn't just call up her aunt and tell her to come over and bake instead of her because unlike Aurora, her aunt would ask countless questions and Regina couldn't possibly tell her aunt that she's taking a break to go and get fucked now, can she? Of course not!

"I know" The brunette huffed, folding her arms infront of her, "I'm just not used to leaving someone else in charge of the kitchen."

"I'm a good baker though," Aurora assured although Regina already knew that, she had tasted a few of the things Aurora baked and brought for them to try in the bakery, just like Regina it appeared to be the young woman's passion too. "So you go home and sleep off some of your headache, if anything - which nothing would - happens, I'll call you."

* * *

With doubts still nestling in her mind, Regina hesitantly left the bakery and took the bus back home. She'd already given Robin her keys, told him to wait for her at her place and make himself comfortable. Which, he probably did and she didn't mind knowing he would either be laying in her bed or even snacking on whatever she had in her fridge at the moment and it was odd because Regina Mills was known for her limits and boundaries and sniffing around her apartment was off-limits, but…she didn't mind him doing that as long as he doesn't go near her that little box in her closet, which was exactly what he was doing when she found him sitting on the bed with the box in his hand, opened and emptied.

"What's this?" He asked, ever-so-innocently (though she knew he was way far from it) as he held up a thick, long, pink object with a curve at the end of it. That sight knocked the air out of Regina's lungs and her eyes grew wide, her cheeks heated and flushed a deep shade of red.

"W…why were you looking in my closet?" She stuttered and he shrugged, setting the toy down before picking up another.

What was happening to this man? Just a few weeks ago he came into her apartment unable to speak a sentence without stammering through it, he couldn't look her in the eye and now he's holding one of her vibrators and boldly asking her what _that_ was?! As if he doesn't know, she scoffed but just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, he opens his mouth and—

"Can you use it infront of me?"

She stumbled back against her vanity mirror, blinking in disbelief, did—did he just ask her to masturbate infront of him? She opened her mouth to tell him that she absolutely would not do that but her voice died in her throat when her eyes landed upon the empty bottle of wine sprawled on the floor alongside the glass, almost empty if it wasn't for the couple of drops lingering at the bottom of it. "Oh no…" she whispered; so that's what's happening. He was drunk.

"No?" He asked, the disappointment visible in his voice.

"You drank _my_ wine and now you're looking through my closet, Robin?" She walked over to him, ready to snatch the toy out of his hands but he held it away from her, lifting it up above his head. "Give it back!"

"No" He grinned at her, "Use it infront of me."

"I will not" She refused however that bastard was just as stubborn as she is but what he did next was something very unexpected, he turned the device on. "Robin!" She exclaimed.

Robin chuckled as it vibrated against the palm of his hand, he gripped it tighter and waved it infront of her, "Please—"

"Maybe next time" She interrupted, roughly snatching the toy from him, she flicked it off and tossed back into the box, she grabbed the other one and placed it back inside before grabbing the box and tucking it under her arm. "We agreed on trying one more time, I very well recall that didn't include either of us masturbating infront of each other."

"But you're very sexy." He argued and if the situation was different she would've thanked him for the compliment but she was too busy turning red out of embarrassment.

"Lets…lets just get it over with," Regina muttered and looked up, watching him already hurrying to remove his clothes.

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Their clothes were quickly taken off their bodies and tossed to the floor, piling up on top of each other. Regina still refused to kiss him but at least there was a bit of progress, they were going somewhere, she allowed him to keep the lights on, didn't dim them even and he settled for that; at least now he could see her beautiful when she orgasms. God he'd been dying to see her the last time.

He hovered above her, lifting himself on both his arms while resting them on either side of her body and she had her legs spread for him, her whisky eyes meeting his ocean ones and she was lost. She was lost in them.

"Regina" He spoke, bringing her attention back to their surroundings and she hummed.

"Yes?" A small whisper escaping through her lips.

"Are you ready?" He said, his lips just a hair away from hers and she could smell the bittersweet scent of the red wine he drank before her arrival; she didn't mind it one bit.

"Yes" She whispered again and that was all he needed to hear before entering her. His thick member filling her once again for the second time yet it still felt like the first. He was stretching her walls as he slid one inch then another until he filled her completely and she gasped in return. Robin gave her time to adjust, he waited for her permission to continue and whilst doing so, he took a step further and lowered his head, brushed his lips over the sensitive skin of her neck and she moaned; **Jackpot!**

He found her magical spot.

"Do you like that?" He whispered huskily in her ear but she didn't respond to him so he pressed another kiss, and another and another until she arched her back and tilted her head to the side, allowing him extra access to her neck and he repeated his question again. "Do you like that?"

This time she answered with a soft whimper, "Yes"

Regina had long forgotten the permission she's supposed to grant him and he was growing impatient, he felt himself in the verge of exploding without even having any fun at all, and he simply couldn't have that. He positioned his hands over her shoulders and on each side of her head as he slowly began pulling out of her, almost all the way before slamming back into her with such force that had her cry out in pleasure.

Robin would've feared that he might have hurt her by his action if it wasn't for the fact that she thrusted upward to meet his thrust, she dug her nails deeper in his back and rolled her hips against his before whispering, "More."

And more is what he gave her.

Although she vowed she wouldn't be moaning nor showing much interest in this, she couldn't help but enjoy it, he was just too damn good. Her moans were freely falling out of her mouth with his thrusts, soft whimpers and cries, pleading him for more, and he gave her more. Robin picked up the pace and began plunging harder into her, thrusting faster.

"Oh—oh god!" She moaned, clawing at his bare back, urging him to continue because dear Lord she was so close.

"Are you going to cum for me?" Robin grunted in her ear but she was too focused on the pleasure to pay attention to anything else, her orgasm was rising and she was almost there, just one more thrust and—

He stilled.

"No, don't stop" She groaned, moving her hips to get any sort of friction that would help her finish but he knew better than to give her all the pleasure she wanted.

"I believe I asked you a question, Mills." The Brit growled, lowering his mouth to her pulse point he began sucking on it, causing her to whimper. "Are you going to cum for me?" He thrusted and she cried out the answer he'd been asking for.

"Yes!" Regina clawed at his skin, leaving a trail of red scratch marks down his back, "Yes—Fuck, Robin, please!"

And he began pounding into her. The sound of their skin slapping against each other echoed throughout the walls of her bedroom, the smell of sex filled it as did their moans. This was much better than their first time, though none of them would say it out loud, they both knew it was the truth.

Robin continued his thrusts, hard and fast and soon she came crashing in his arms. Screaming out his name as her walls tightly clenched around him, he soon followed and she began milking him, welcoming his seed into her.

She thought it was all done, but she thought wrong.

He pulled his softened member out of her and began kissing his way down her body, she whimpered softly when his lips lightly brushed over her hardened nipples, they ached for attention but he denied them that and continued his way down between the valley of her breasts. His lips pressing open-mouthed kisses to her delicate, flawless milky skin, tasting the saltiness of the sweat that lingered from their latest activity. He pressed a kiss followed by another in the dip of her navel and down to her hipbones.

"Robin…" She whispered.

And he ignored, continuing his way down to his desired place before stopping. His fingers pressed over her thighs as he spread them apart and if she could, she would've stopped him; he knew but she was too tired. Robin glanced up at her to find her chest rising and falling with every deep breath she took in before letting out.

"Robin" Regina whispered a little louder but he was too busy taking in the sweet scent of her arousal to notice that she was looking down at him, her mouth agape and brown eyes slightly widened. "No—" She started but her words were replaced with a long moan when his tongue made its way through her glistening folds. She tried to squirm away but his hand pressed her hip down and in place.

She refused this, not because she didn't want it but because she was scared she would want more of it. He wasn't supposed to give her pleasure in such way but there he was lapping at her as if he'd been thirsty for days.

Her right hand tightly gripped the satin sheets beneath her whilst her left one rested over the back of his head, her fingers tugging at his dark blonde hair, "Mmm…Robin" She breathed out, "Oh god, yes—Just like that."

His tongue flicked over her sensitive bud, went down in-between her slick lips and entered her. He wiggled it, pulling her closer and parting her legs as much as it was possible as he devoured her. God, now that he had a taste of her, he could never get enough.

It didn't take her long to reach her second orgasm of the night, her juices gushing out of her and flowing into his mouth and he moaned, she tasted heavenly. He lapped at her, licking her until she was all clean again before slumping back down by her side.

Stopping all of this once she conceives would be hard because he wanted her. He wanted all of her.

* * *

"So how did you get this?" He whispered, breaking the awkward silence that fell upon them after their little activity. He traced the pad of his thumb over the deep scar on the right side of her upper lip and she flinched, closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. "You don't have to tell me" He quickly added, feeling guilty for asking such a personal question but she shook her head and flashed him a sad smile, gentle but a sad smile nonetheless.

She might as well tell him since he brought it up, he's already drunk and would most likely not remember any of this the next day.

"I did this to myself," She whispered, her tongue exiting her mouth and lightly tracing over the healed cut on her lip. "I was 7 years old when I went to the grocery store with my mom, she told me she'll wait in the car and handed me a few bucks, told me to get some milk and bread and with whatever that's left, I could get a treat for myself." She paused, feeling the tears emerge and swim behind her eyelids. "No one was there, just me and the guy who worked there and I walked to the back of the store where my favorite candy bar usually laid but they were out of it so I asked if they happen to have any back in the storage area and he told me that he would check, he asked me if I wanted to come in with him and help him look and I was a curious kid so I agreed."

Robin knew where this was going and he felt his heart sink.

"I stood infront of a shelve and began looking through the boxes when—" She choked back a sob and sniffled, "when I felt his hands on my hips, I ignored it but then I felt…I felt his mouth on the corner of mine and his hand was just going lower. I pushed him and ran out, threw the money and just took the bread and milk so my mom wouldn't suspect anything; I thought I'll get in trouble because of what he did." She paused and he opened his mouth to speak but her story wasn't done yet.

"I was scared" Regina admitted, "I never told anyone and by the age 11 I felt disgusted by that part of my lips, the part that he touched so I got a knife and tried…I tried to cut it off." She whispered, ashamed of what she had done but she was just a kid, she was a fool but she was scared and disgusted too. "This was the only thing I managed to do and I ended up getting stitches and I was grounded." The brunette turned her head to the side and looked at him, giving him a sad smile.

"I—" He began and she cut him off.

"I know" She whispered and stared back up at the blank ceiling above them. "Now I'm left with this ugly scar, even make-up can't cover."

"I don't hate it" Robin whispered, "I like it" He confessed and she didn't know why, but she smiled a little wider at his words.

Perhaps, that scar wasn't all that bad then.

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 **A/N:** I really hope the smut wasn't _that_ bad. Writer's block is a b*tch but I do hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I am sorry for taking too long to write this and I know I'm late but Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a good one and I hope you'd enjoy this chapter. All mistakes are mine.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are unknown in the Once Fandom.

 **A/N2:** To those who didn't read the last bit (sexual assault) it was just about why Regina was hesitant about kissing Robin and how she'd gotten her scar.

* * *

"Are you serious!" Robin exclaimed, which probably wasn't the best idea. He winced and placed a hand over his throbbing head, stupid hangover.

"Dead serious," Regina chuckled, "You waved it right infront of me and begged me to use it, put on a show for you." She said, smirking at the sight of his cheeks flushing as she told him the incident that accord the day before, of him finding her toys and what followed. "But what I really still cant believe is how you could get drunk by just drinking wine!"

"What? You've never gotten drunk just by it before?" He asked, arching a brow and she shook her head, flashing him a smug smile before turning her attention back to the turkey, roasting in her oven. "When are you parents supposed to be arriving?"

"Soon" Regina said.

"Do you want me to pick them up from the airport?" He offered and she shook her head.

"Uncle Leo is doing that—"

"He's coming too?" He interrupted, surprised by not knowing about this earlier.

"Yes, their daughter, her husband and son too."

Perhaps agreeing to this Thanksgiving thing wasn't the brightest idea, Robin thought and thickly swallowed the lump in his throat. He was a shy person, she knew that, he's someone who's anxious most of the time and meeting new people wasn't something he was comfortable doing. He would most likely panic and embarrass himself infront of this family; his _wife's_ family.

"Isn't…isn't that a bit too much for the first meeting?" He muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from the brunette as she leaned back against the kitchen island, folding her arms infront of her. "I just don't wanna end up doing something that might have them realize we aren't truly married." He said and quickly added, "that's all."

"Will you stop worrying so much, you'll do just fine, Robin." Regina reassured, walking over to him and giving him a pat on his forearm, she leaned forward and grabbed the oven mitts from behind him, sliding them on.

"Can we do it all over again? The questions thing, just to be extra sure we've got everything covered." Robin said almost pleadingly and she nodded her head. The poor Brit was more stressed than she is and they're her family, not his.

"Fine" Regina agreed with a soft sigh, "What's my middle name?" She asked and waited for his answer, it took him a little while but then he proudly exclaimed _Petal_ , "correct" the brunette praised, "Who gave me the middle name and why?"

"Your father—" Robin paused, squinting his eyes as he thought for a moment, going through his memory to remember exactly why did he give her the name Petal. "I…I can't remember." He stuttered, a frown taking over his face.

"My middle name's Petal because daddy believed when I grow up, my heart is going to be as soft and delicate as the inside of a petal." Regina explained, checking on the pumpkin pie baking in the electric oven. She'd done good buying herself another oven, there was one thing about Regina everyone knew and it's that she cant standing baking her goodies in the same oven she uses for actual meals such as chicken or turkey in this case or whatever else she would desire.

"Right, the inside of a petal," Robin muttered, mentally scribbling that down. "Alright, something else."

"My sister?" Regina asked. She was amused by how well he seemed to be memorizing things, although he forgot a few things he was still doing great for someone who had been told a handful of things in under two days.

"Zelena, she's married to a guy named—" Robin paused, squinting one eye and biting the inside of his cheek, he silently cursed himself for forgetting, again.

"Walt," She answered for him, "Her husband's called Walt."

"Walt, as in Walt Disney?" Robin rolled his eyes, "Please don't tell me she's planning on naming her first born son Mickey!"

"Actually—" Regina began, tucking her folded arms underneath her breasts, "her daughter's called Minnie." She gave him a deadpanned look but the instant she saw his face twist in both confusion and apparent horror over the poor child, she couldn't help but bust out laughing loudly. "I'm kidding, Robin" She assured and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt sorry for the kid because honestly, who would name their child Minnie? Whether or not their father was called Walt; it was an awful name.

"And it's Walsh?" Regina said.

"Hmm?"

"Walsh, not Walt and she doesn't have a child, I just like teasing you." The young baker admitted, her face splitting into a wide smile.

"You don't say." Robin scoffed, sarcasm dripping from his words as he narrowed his ocean blue eyes at her.

"What was my first pet and what was it called?"

"Your mother never allowed pets in the house, she thought they were filthy and would ruin all her furnitures." He answered and she nodded her head slowly, smiling brightly at him.

"Very good, Locksley." Regina praised.

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The pair continued their little game, he asked her questions, little details about herself and he shared some of his own too; just incase her parents or rather nosy sister wouldn't mind her own business.

It was half an hour later when they were disturbed by the knocks on the door. Regina excused herself from the kitchen, leaving Robin behind to watch over the baking pie and roasting turkey as she went to welcome their guests.

Though her apartment was rather small, it could still fit them all perfectly for this gathering.

The brunette straightened her neck and stood with her shoulders up; mother always told her not to sag them, ladies don't do that. She untied her apron and hung it before smoothing down the wrinkles on her red dress, it was something she wasn't entirely sure about but Robin complimented her, told her how beautiful she looks in it and gave her confidence about it. Regina smiled softly at the memory.

"Just a second!" She called out, walking down the small hallway and stopping infront of the door, she could hear the murmurs of her mother, mostly likely complaining about something and she could imagine her father just standing impatiently and rolling his eyes at her. The brunette stifled a laugh and placed her hand over the doorknob, tilting it down and opening the door only to be greeted by her enthusiastic parents.

"Regina!" Her mother, Cora said as she threw her arms around her daughter, pulling her in for a rather tight hug.

"Mother…can't…breathe" The young baker stuttered jokingly, causing her father to laugh before receiving a playful swat on her bicep from her mother. She pressed a firm kiss to Cora's cheek then moved to give her father a hug as well. She'd missed both of them dearly.

"So where's this husband of yours?" Cora asked, and speaking of the devil, Robin popped up.

"Hello," Robin said, waving his hand and smiling sheepishly at the couple supposedly his _in-laws_ , "Robin Locksley" The Brit introduced himself, extending his hand for Regina's father who happily took it in a friendly handshake.

"Please, call me Henry." The older man insisted.

Robin nodded his head and offered a smile to his _mother-in-law_ , being the gentleman he was taught to be, he took a hold of her hand and pressed a feather-light kiss on her knuckles. "Pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Mills."

"Oh—" Cora tossed a smirk at her daughter, letting her know she'd picked a good man. "The pleasure is mine, dear. It's good to finally meet this man who my daughter secretly married." The older woman spat the last two words in Regina's way.

"I'm a bit disappointed that we weren't invited, nor even told." Henry said, frowning slightly at his daughter who pouted in returned, sincerely apologizing in a quiet manner.

"It just happened" Regina said, chewing on her lower lip. "Besides, it wasn't a big one anyways, just us and a few of our friends." she lied but obviously, her parents bought whatever she offered.

"Oh enough of this, what happened is already in the past now let me see that gorgeous ring—"

Silence filled the room when Cora lifted her daughter's hand only to find it ringless. The older woman opened her mouth to ask about it when Robin beat her to it, pulled out a diamond ring out of his pocket along with the wedding band and holding them infront of a stunned Regina.

"You left that by the sink, again, sweetheart." Robin said, taking his _wife's_ hand and slipping the rings on, she wasn't sure how and when he got it but the _engagement_ ring was beautiful and it fit her perfectly. Both of the rings did.

"Oh my—Henry look!" Cora gaped at the beauty on her daughter's finger, lifting it up and showing it off to her husband.

"It's beautiful" Henry observed and it made Robin proud of his pick.

* * *

The rest of the family arrived shortly after, uncle Leo and aunt Eva followed by their daughter Mary-Margaret and her husband David with their little son, Neal. It took Zelena and her husband a little longer to arrive, their flight was delayed but they joined the rest of the family just in time for the turkey carving.

Just as Regina suspected, her sister immediately began asking Robin as many questions as she could, obviously suspicious about how sudden her little sister's wedding was but it didn't seem to bother the Brit at all, he happily answered all the questions and surprisingly enough, they were all correct.

They spoke about many things, how everybody's life was going and of course Zelena _had_ to ask about how the pair have met, thankfully the two came up with a story that matched earlier and half of it wasn't a lie. They did meet through Emma, they became friends when she helped him getting a job and the only lie was that they'd fallen in love with one another. But, was it really a lie?

* * *

"He's a wonderful man." Eva commented, twirling her finger along the rim of her wine glass.

"Indeed" Cora agreed, taking a sip of her own half-empty glass.

"Where did you find him, really?" Zelena butted in, she took a step back and glanced at the men, bonding with one another in the livingroom.

"Through Emma." Regina repeated, irritated by how cautious her sister seemed to be or perhaps, just annoyingly curious as usual.

"Look at him," Mary-Margaret said, smiling and nodding her chin toward Robin who was babbling God knows what to little Neal and drawing an adorable giggle from the child. "He's really good with him"

Out of curiosity, Regina took a step away from the sink and looked at Robin, her heart swelled at the scene unfolding infront of her. She'd seen how amazing he was with Ashely's daughter, Alex and now she'd seen him with Neal; she couldn't wait to see him with a child of their own.

"Have you thought about children?" Mary-Margaret asked.

"It's too early, dear, I highly doubt Regina's ready for one." Cora commented, it wasn't possible that her daughter would think of having a child right now, they only just got married besides, she had a bakery to run.

"Actually mother, Robin and I have been trying." Regina turned around, pressing her back against the kitchen island. "Unfortunately, nothing yet." The brunette shrugged her shoulders and looked at her mother's surprised face. It was quite hilarious and if she wasn't sad over not being pregnant yet, she would've laughed at it.

There was silence again, they all stared at Regina until Zelena cleared her throat, announcing that it was time to cut up dessert.

* * *

The pumpkin pie was a hit, "almost as good as Eva's" Leo teased his jealous wife but Robin and Henry seemed to be more focused on the mini-chocolate chips Regina baked alongside, they were soft and chewy and the fact that they were bite-sized made the men come for more continuously until there was no more in the platter. Regina had even gotten the approval of it from Neal who munched on it with the little teeth he had growing.

Shortly after, they wished the _newly-wed_ couple a goodnight and left, but not before Cora convincing Regina to meet them with Robin in Harrods for breakfast the day after, the young baker refused but her mother insisted. Figuring they will only be here for a few more days before returning to America, she might as well spend as much time with them as possible.

"You take care of yourself, dear" Cora said, kissing her daughter's cheek, "and it was wonderful meeting you, Robin." She smiled up at her son-in-law who returned her smile.

"I've been waiting for a long time to meet Regina's wonderful parents and I'm very glad that I'd gotten the pleasure of doing so." Robin said.

Smooth, Regina thought with a slight smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. She watched her parents leave before closing the door and slumping back against it in exhaustion. "I am thankful that Thanksgiving is just once in a year." Robin chuckled and grabbed her hand, tugging her up.

"Lets get you in bed, I'm going to clean the rest."

"No" The brunette whined, digging her heels in the ground to stop her from being pulled by him. "I don't wanna go to bed."

"You've been up since 6, Regina and you've been on her feet the whole time, you are going to rest and right now." He demanded, she opened her mouth to argue with him but he simply glared at her.

"Fine" She huffed, pulling her hand from his grip and walking past him and down the hall to her room. Once he heard the sound of the door click shut, he smiled and made his way into the kitchen to clean up the rest; it was the fair thing to do after she cooked mostly everything.

Robin tossed away the empty wine bottles, packed the leftovers and stocked them in the fridge, he washed and rinsed the dishes then dried them.

"Don't throw away the leftovers!" Robin heard her yelling from her bedroom before responding with a yell of his own.

"I packed them and left them in the fridge, I figured you might either have some for the following days or simply give them for the homeless that live behind the building." He said.

Regina smiled softly at his words, he knew her very well indeed. "I am" She confirmed, stepping out wearing a knitted sweater and sweat pants. It was starting to get colder now that December was approaching however she wasn't sure yet if there was snow expected this year as well or not. She hoped so, she loved the snow.

"I knew it" Robin muttered, smiling and wiping his hands dry on the towel before turning around to look at her, "well then my job's done. Goodnight, milady."

"Robin wait," She stopped him, grabbing him by his hand when he walked past her. "It's late, stay the night."

"But I haven't gotten any clothes," Robin said, furrowing his eyebrow as he looked down at her.

"Sleep with your underwear, I'll give you an extra blanket?" She suggested and he thought it through, it was indeed getting late and since she offered him her couch again — which wasn't all that uncomfortable — he can't turn her down.

"Alright, can I get a pillow too?"

"Of course, silly, you're sleeping in bed with me."

Robin's eyes widened.

Did—did she just asked him to sleep in bed with her?

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me, you're going to sleep in bed with me." Regina repeated herself, apparently that's what she's doing mostly today. "I've seen you toss and turn on the couch, you look rather uncomfortable and Emma told me that it hurts your back, so come in bed with me, it's not like you haven't slept with me before." The Brit blinked his eyes twice, his cheeks burning at the memories of last night.

"If you're sure."

"I am" Regina smiled, she took a hold of his hand and dragged him with her to her bedroom. They settled beneath the thick quilt and to his surprise, she didn't turn away from him instead she curled closer to him than usual, her face only a few inches away from his. "I saw you with Neal today." He remained quiet, "do you really want this, to be a father?"

"Of course" Robin answered almost instantly, she could tell there was no hesitation in his voice and it made her smile. He did something she hadn't expected, especially from him. He boldly moved his hand and rested it upon her flat stomach, giving it a gentle stroke. "Is this okay?" He whispered and she nodded her head; she couldn't deny how good that felt. "Would—would I be able to lay with you like this and rub your belly when your pregnant?"

The way he asked, it was so innocent that it also broke her heart at the same time, her facial expression softened and she nodded her head. This certainly wasn't what she had in mind when she asked him to be her sperm donor, she wanted nothing to do with him but now she found herself craving his touch, missing him whenever he's gone, she found comfort in his manly pine scent. It reminded her of the forest. She loved it.

"I would lay my head close to it and talk to the baby, probably about how good of a baker you are." Robin smiled as did Regina at his words.

"What else?" She found herself asking, wanting to know more.

"I would be there for you, every doctor appointment and during the birth…well, only if you want me."

"I do" She whispered.

Robin lifted his gaze from where his hand was only to meet her brown ones, staring deeply into his and it stirred something inside of him. If he hadn't fallen in love with her the first time they made love, he most certainly did now. "Regina?"

She hummed.

"May…may I kiss you?"

She didn't answer him verbally, instead she closed the little distance between them and brushed her lips lightly over his own and there it was, that spark she had read about in stories and heard in movies. The spark she never knew existed, until now.

She, without a doubt, had fallen in love with the man who was meant to be nothing but a donor.

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 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, my Roses and please don't forget to review, it truly makes me happy and **spoiler** down below.

*Spoiler*

Though Roland wont be the baby they'll be having, he will be featured in this story in future chapters also there will be a little bit of drama, just not yet.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I just wanna thank everyone for following/favoriting/reviewing. You guys, without a doubt, are the best! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are unknown in the Once Fandom.

 **A/N2:** Also, I just wanted to clear one thing. Roland will **not** be Robin's son from another woman however there will be a connection. You just gotta wait and see but if you're interested, you can message me for spoilers!

* * *

It was a dream, or so it felt to Regina when she woke up to an empty bed. She would've believed that Robin, their kiss and everything that happened was just something her mind made up if it wasn't for the evidence of his head laying on the pillow by hers. Regina smiled softly, moving her hand up and lightly touching her lips with the tips of her fingers.

Their first kiss.

 _Her_ first kiss.

Just a couple of weeks ago she hated her lips, that ugly scar that lingered on the right side of her upper lip and the memories that came with it. She vowed to never kiss anyone because of what happened to her but she willingly kissed him last night and she had no regrets whatsoever. Oddly enough, she wanted to kiss him everyday for the rest of her life.

The brunette swung her legs off the bed and sleepily rubbed her eyes, she hoped that she would at least find a note from him saying that he left for the day, but there wasn't any on either of the nightstands nor a text on her phone. It saddened her but what should she expect? The only thing they would share is a child and nothing more, there would be no love; this isn't a love story, it's reality.

But she was wrong and he was here.

"Good morning!" Robin beamed at her from the kitchen, pouring her a cup of the freshly brewed coffee. "I was wondering if you'd wake up today."

"Good morning" Regina whispered, she would be lying if she said she wasn't happy to see him here because she truly was and happier than she had been in a long time.

"Since your mother invited us for breakfast, I thought we'd stick to coffee then head over there?" He suggested and she shrugged her shoulders.

"You don't have to, I can tell her that work called you in or whatever." She said, wrapping her fingers around the ceramic cup and embracing the warmth it provided her palms with. She lifted it up to her lips and carefully sipped the steaming liquid, almost moaning when it warmed her insides as it nestled in her belly.

"Nonsense" Robin smiled, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I'm coming"

And he did.

The couple stopped by his place first so he would change out of his Thanksgiving outfit and into something much more casual for breakfast. He slipped on a pair of old navy blue jeans and a white button down shirt with a black suit jacket on top as for Regina, she dressed more classic with a red dress that reached just above her knees and hugged her curves perfectly, a white coat above it to keep her warm in this cold winter weather and her long legs covered with a thin black pantyhose. They soon took the bus down to Brompton Road and into Harrods they went to meet up with Regina's parents.

It was fun, Regina had to admit. She hadn't expected it to go as smoothly as it did, her mother seemed to love Robin and it shocked Regina, Cora was known for disapproving almost everything. She never liked her ex-boyfriend, Daniel and till this day the young baker never understood why. He was a nice man, kind and a sweetheart but that wasn't good enough for her mother. Eventually they parted ways and lost touch, although she hoped he was doing good.

Breakfast was ordered and eaten, dessert and coffee followed and then a little bit of shopping afterwards. Whilst her mother picked some gifts to bring back with her to the States, Robin surprised her with some chocolates and a teddy bear. She adored the little fluffy thing, creamy in color and dressed as one of Harrods' doormen.

She was going to keep it hidden away for their baby. _Their_ baby.

The weeks swiftly passed by, their friendship grew stronger that they almost believe their own lie, that they were indeed a married couple. Robin spent most of his time in Regina's apartment, though he didn't move in there she still made some space for his own things whenever he stayed over. Now laid two toothbrushes instead of one in her bathroom, extra towels and her spare pillow no longer hid in the closet.

She no longer felt lonely in her own bed anymore either.

* * *

Christmas tree was picked and brought in, ornaments were hung and the decorations were up just in time for the first sprinkles of December's snow. Christmas was approaching and was just around the corner, the bakery was extremely busy that Regina was barely able to scratch her head and catch a breath. Aside from working on new recipes, changing and adding into them to perfect them, she was fully booked on orders and no longer took any special ones for the occasion.

Christmas was a blessing, but a very tiring blessing without a doubt.

She'd been restless, pacing back and forth around the bakery's kitchen, taking one baking sheet out of the oven and throwing in another, different recipe, different flavor. The Forbidden Fruit was closed for the evening, everyone had said their goodnight and left to be with their family or friends except for Regina. She still had work to do.

"Are you still not done?" A voice behind her startled her, almost causing her to drop the baking sheet she had in her hands. Now that would've been messy and it would set her in a foul mood for the remaining of the evening.

"You should really stop trying to give me heart attacks, Robin." Regina huffed, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes and he simply laughed in return.

"I apologize, Mills but I thought you would've been done by now." Robin said, tucking his hands in the pockets of his coat to warm them up. It was clear just how cold it had gotten now that they are in the middle of December, the tip of his nose was shaded in soft pink as well as both his cheeks.

"Just a few more minutes" She muttered, removing the sugar cookies and setting them aside on the rack to cool completely before drizzling the red and green icing on top of them. "Can you check on the gingerbread cookies for me?"

Robin did just that, he'd spend enough time with her that he wouldn't call himself an expert but he was certainly a beginner when it came to baking now. He understood the basics, the measurements and how they work if the recipe calls for a decreased or increased amount, he knew when is the right time to take something out of the oven and when a cake is perfectly ready and Regina couldn't be any prouder.

"They're done" He announced, setting down the baking sheet down on the marbled top of the kitchen island.

Regina thanked him and pressed a feather-light kiss over his lips.

It felt so right, so natural as if they've been kissing one another for the past couple of years or so, like a couple who would peck a kiss to one another's lips before heading to work or stealing a kiss before bed.

She didn't expect to find love in the man she once sheltered, the man who she didn't quite fancy until recently despite seeing him many times back while they were growing up. But she did.

Just like before, she sat him down and asked him to try her newest batch of cookies. "These are all new recipes" She said, placing infront of him 5 different types, luckily for him she'd cut down the recipe to decrease the amount or else instead of the dozen of each she would've ended up with twice as much and he didn't know if he could handle it, knowing very well she will either make him take it with him home or feed him a different flavor for the three main courses until they're all done. She poured him a cup of cold milk and sat down beside him, resting her chin on her palm while looking at him.

He picked up the first flavor, snickerdoodle as she called it or cinnamon rolled sugar cookies as he did. They were soft and chewy, crispy just around the edges and exactly how he loved his cookies, or biscuits. Didn't really matter to him at the moment as he chewed the cinnomany deliciousness before chasing it down with a sip of the milk. He gave her the thumbs up and she grinned, taking the cookie and finishing it for him when he moved it over to her lips.

Second flavor was the white chocolate gingerbread cookies, now these were slightly harder than the snickerdoodles but he couldn't complain, they were just as good. That unique mixture of the white chocolate and the traditional gingerbread, it was so well balanced that despite not liking white chocolate, he finished it off.

"Did you like that one? I remember Emma telling me before that you don't really like white chocolate." Regina said, smiling warmly up at him as he nodded his head.

"I loved it" He spoke with a mouthful before apologizing, hoping none of the crumbs ended up flying all over her face. He swallowed it with a sip of milk before moving to the third type of cookies, her famous melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie balls however this time she decided to spice it up a little, normally she would keep the cookies plain and simple on their own but this time she decided to add icing on top and each of the colors had different flavors. The red was a mixture of the royal icing and strawberry jam mixed into it and the green, despite it having nothing to do with the color, it was salted-caramel.

But Robin didn't seem to care about the color not exactly matching to what the flavor is, he plopped a half of the salted-caramel in his mouth and immediately moaned; it was heaven disguised as a little piece of cookie. "You'll be the death of me one day." He accused her and she chuckled, feeling herself blush at his words.

"That good?"

"Are you kidding me?" Robin looked at her in disbelief, "The cookie itself is wonderful but with that caramel icing on top, it makes it even better!" He praised, tearing a small piece of the other half he fed her, she nodded her head and chewed.

"Okay _maybe_ it's a bit better" She rolled her eyes, drawing a laugh from the two of them.

* * *

The taste testing continued, he loved the strawberry jam flavored one as well however he asked her to add a bit more, he could barely taste the fruitiness as it hid behind the sweetness of the icing itself.

Next on the menu were the chocolate mint cookies, it wasn't his personal favorite, a little too minty for his liking, he told her but he was sure others might love them. After it, came the frosted red velvet cookies, they were in a cake-like texture and he found no flaw in that at all. On their own, he realized how they weren't all that sweet but with her cream cheese frosting, it balanced the sweetness just wonderfully. There was something about the cream cheese frosting she makes, it wouldn't hold its shape and it was in a pudding consistency until it's put in the fridge, then it would settle slightly. Regina caught him a couple of times just scooping in some of the cream cheese frosting mixture into a small bowl and mix it with berries and his only excuse was is that it tasted amazing!

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Cookies were tasted and picked, notes to adjust them were written down and the prices were set. Robin helped the young baker clean up before closing and off they went.

"Just a minute, I need to grab a few things." Regina said, pulling Robin into the supermarket with her. As he went to grab a cart, she already made her way toward the baking supplies section. Firstly she grabbed the salted-caramel extract, setting a few bottles into the cart, she walked to the left side and beamed, finding her favorite popcorn brand all stocked up again, she grabbed a couple of the cheese flavored ones and tossed them in the cart. Whilst she continued her little shopping, Robin couldn't help but smile at the way she was, like a little child walking into the supermarket for the first time, excited about all the little things.

And he fell in love with her a little more.

Regina walked around grabbing a few bottles of beer for Robin and sodas for herself, she threw in a few snacks for them to munch on and some actual food; after all they couldn't possibly live on her baked goodness and junk food forever.

Their groceries were scanned and prized then paid for, they both grabbed the plastic bags and headed out when Regina stopped him again. "Wait" She said and Robin sighed, rolling his eyes before turning to look at her.

"What is it this time, Mills?"

"There's no time for me to cook dinner and McDonald's is just there," She grinned, pointing to her right side.

"McDonalds?" He arched a brow and she nodded her head, grinning widely at him as if she truly was a little kid. "I would've never thought you were the kind who fancied this type of junk food."

"Well I am now shall we?"

"We shall" Robin chuckled, he took the rest of the bags from her and walked with her toward McDonald's, as they entered they were greeted by one of the employees, they returned their hello with a simple head nod and made their way to place their orders.

Regina settled for the banana shake and the 20-pieces of chicken nuggets, it surprised Robin and she simply smirked at him, in a way of telling him that she can indeed eat them all. As for Robin, he ordered himself two of the Big Mac with an apple pie on the side. He paid and they waited before grabbing their food and heading back to her apartment.

The elevator ride to the last floor was quiet, Regina continued staring into the mirror behind them and Robin impatiently rocked back and forth. There was something about the elevators that made him feel uncomfortable. The ring that echoed throughout the elevator indicated their arrival, whilst she carried their dinner he carried in their groceries, setting them in their places.

"Can you get me a cup of water please?" Regina called out from the livingroom, she settled the food down on the floor and flicked on the TV, waiting for Robin to join her.

The Brit poured her a cold cup of water, he knew all too well that she despised lukewarm water and no matter how cold the weather might be, she would always sip icy cold beverages in general. "Here" He said, placing the cup infront of her and she thanked him, pulling him down by her side.

"Have you watched _The Nightmare before Christmas_?" She asked and he shook his head, "it's one of my favorite movies."

"I've heard of it, just never actually bothered to watch it." Robin explained, truthfully it confused him. He wasn't sure whether it was a Halloween movie or a Christmas one, perhaps both? Yes, maybe.

"Well today's your lucky day." The young baker grinned, she grabbed the remote control and pressed the play button.

* * *

The couple sat by each other's side as they quietly ate and watched the animated movie. Their dinner was soon devoured and the pie he'd gotten was cut in half, he insisted that he couldn't finish it all by himself no matter how small it actually was but in reality, he just loved sharing things with her and he knew just how much she loved apples; hence the name of her bakery.

Halfway through the movie, Robin snaked his arm around Regina's waist and pulled her to him, she didn't resist and instead she laid her head on his shoulder. Soon after, her breathing became even and she went limp, that's when he realized she'd fallen asleep on him. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful as she slept and he hated that he would have risk waking her up by carrying her into the bedroom, as an alternative to that he carefully pulled her in his lap into a more comfortable position, she stirred but did not wake up, instead she curled into him and blew out a soft sigh. He smiled in return and pressed a gentle kiss at the top of her head, tightening his arms around her body to keep her safe and warm.

However did he get this lucky to even spend the night with this beautiful woman, he would never know but he cherished these moments, the little moments they got to spend together.

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 **A/N** : I know this chapter isn't the best, and I'm not really proud of it but I've been sick again lately (stupid flu) and life's been fucking me over (excuse my french) but I really wanted to update because I hate keeping you all waiting so I hope this chapter was good at least. Please don't forget to review, hearing what you guys have to say really makes me happy and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me and I'll do my best to return to them. I do have a twitter so if you wanna follow me on it, just ask me about it.

Thank you my Roses, I love you all!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** When I first started this story, I never expected this much positivity to come along with it, you guys rock! I think most of you have been looking forward for this to happen so enjoy this chapter! ;D

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are unknown in the Once Fandom and my mistakes.

 **A/N2:** I mentioned before that I was planning on bringing Roland into this story, I already figured out how and what his role would be but I was also considering dragging in Henry, I'm not yet settled on that thought although I have it all thought through and figured out. Just letting you all know on what's coming in the future :)

* * *

Things have been progressing faster than usual between the pair ever since she'd kissed for the very first time that night. It no longer felt awkward when they spent time together and Robin wasn't that same old shy guy around her either. They'd walked in on each other bare a few times but as if it was nothing, they continued their day normally with him throwing a compliment her way, telling her that she has a "wonderful ass" and she would wink in return, telling him that his "isn't that bad either."

Their _relationship_ was playful, something neither of them expected but this was them. He would sneak a kiss on her lips and she would hold his hand in public, they slept with him spooning her at night and she would wake up with her head on top of his chest, they did everything any couple would do except admit their feelings to one another. She had her reasons, she was scared of love, it was something she never quite trusted herself with and he didn't want to scare her away because he knew that.

He would rather have her just as a friend with benefits rather than not having her at all. He couldn't carry on without her, he was so used to having her in his life and him in hers.

* * *

It was Christmas eve and whilst he was at his place preparing their dinner, she'd been busy sending out the last few orders before closing up much earlier than usual because after all, it was Christmas eve and who would rather be working instead of spending time with their loved ones?

Regina actually, this had been her life ever since she'd moved to England, she busied herself with the bakery on both Christmas eve and day, she worked alone and dismissed her employees because she might've not had a life outside her bakery, but they did.

However this year was different, Robin insisted that she joins him because he too was alone. His parents decided on the last minute that they would be spending their Christmas out of the country and in a tropical island instead; this had been their life ever since he moved out. They would travel from one place to another, live adventures even he hadn't gotten the chance to live. They would act much younger than their age.

That's what he loved about his parents, even though years have passed the spark between them never died.

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Regina arrived and walked into the mouthwatering aroma that filled his house, now she knew he was able to cook a few things, give him something frozen and he'd fry it or throw it in the oven, he can master a toast with cheese on top but never once had she seen him cook something from scratch. He surprised her when she walked in and found a candle in the middle of the table, everything was set so perfect that for a moment she'd forgotten that this isn't a date but a Christmas eve dinner.

The roast duck was cooked wonderfully, she could already tell by the looks of it that the skin was crispy and the meat itself was juicy and tender. The stuffing and the gravy set on the side smelled amazing, the cranberry sauce was homemade, he told her so and she couldn't resist but dip her index in it and give it a taste. He also attempted to make and bake his own Yorkshire pudding from scratch knowing she mentioned before how she wanted to give them a taste. Mashed potatoes rather than the roasted ones knowing very well neither of them liked the bitterness that came with it, and steamed vegetables that he lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.

It was a full English Christmas dinner, he told her and she couldn't wait to try everything.

"This is wonderful, Robin." Regina praised, taking a seat without even bothering to change, she was famished seeing as the only thing she'd gotten into her belly all day was coffee and nibbles of the leftover cookies and cakes she'd baked back in the bakery.

"I hope it tastes as good as it looks, I got a little help from my two friends, mom's cookbook and google." The Brit said, grinning cheekily at her as he opened the wine bottle and poured some in both their glasses.

Regina thanked him and brought the glass to her lips, taking a small swig to taste and savor the taste of the first sip. She hummed, letting him know that he'd done well by the red wine he'd picked, "I'm sure it tastes just great" she said, watching as he began carving the duck and plating both their dishes with all sorts of goodies.

Just as she suspected, the skin was crispy and though it was slightly dry, the meat was just as delicious.

Their dinner was devoured over small talks about work and family, she told him that tomorrow she would be going to visit her aunt and uncle as it was Christmas and Christmas was about family after all, she told him that they were expecting him however, if he didn't feel like coming along she wouldn't force him to. He, of course, couldn't turned down the invitation and agreed on going with her.

"We're leaving after breakfast" She said, licking the front of her teeth to insure there wasn't anything stuck between them and he nodded his head with a smile curled on his lips. "And Robin?" He hummed in respond, "thank you, dinner was phenomenal."

"You're welcome" He replied sincerely as he stood up to get the plates and rinse them but she stopped him, placing a hand over his.

"I'll get it, why don't you go and get dessert ready instead?" She suggested and though he wanted to argue, she hadn't given him a chance by shooting him a glare.

Robin sighed and nodded his head, "Fine" he said and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and it brought the butterflies in the pit of her stomach alive.

She would never get tired of his kisses.

As he went on to get their dessert ready, his mother's special trifle, Regina was washing and rinsing the dishes, stocking the leftovers in the fridge before cleaning up the table. This was their first Christmas together, and she hoped it wouldn't be their last.

Now that she had gotten a taste of how it is not to be truly alone during this holiday, she doesn't want to go back to spending it on her own, or with her family; it just wouldn't feel the same, she knew it.

"Tea?" Regina said, offering him the warm cup she made for him and he took it without hesitation, thanking her and pulling her down on his lap.

"This is one of the best Christmas eves I've had in a very long time." Robin admitted it, resting his chin over her shoulder as she leaned back into him.

"Is that so?" She asked and he hummed, "Why?" she found herself curious, was it because of her or because he wasn't spending it on his own?

Secretly, she hoped the answer would be—

"Because of you"

Yes, that was the answer she was looking for and she got it.

"Me?" Her question came out so innocent even she couldn't believe it came from her.

"You—" He said, "Regina, you turned my life upside down and not just because of the fact that for all I know you might be carrying my child right now." He paused, turning her around so he could look at her as he spoke, so she could see just how sincere he is with his words. "But because you walked in my life an all the sudden I forgot how it felt to be alone, my life no longer revolves around work, now I look forward to something after I'm done, I look forward to spending the rest of the day with you."

"Robin—"

"No, let me finish." He interrupted her. It had taken so much of him to gather this amount of courage to finally tell her, perhaps not everything he carried in his heart but some of it, something to start with and not scare her off. "Regina I know this isn't what you want, you just want a donor who would grant you the child you've been dreaming of but I…I don't think I'm capable of going through a day without you, without that beautiful smile of yours, your contagious laugh. I want to wake up everyday to find your gorgeous brown eyes boring into mine, I want to go to sleep with you in my arms and I—"

Regina cut him off, she'd heard enough to let him carry on.

She'd cut him off and captured his lips in a soft and loving kiss, not deep enough to feel forceful and nor passionate enough to be sloppy, but still a hungry kiss nonetheless. Her finger nails raked over his scalp and she moaned, a soft moan to which he muffled and swallowed.

They kissed numerous times but, none of their kisses were ever more than a quick peck and a stolen one. Light as feathers and soft as petals, nothing more. Nothing as this one before.

The pair pulled apart after minutes have passed for a much needed breath, a gasp for air as she rested her forehead against his, her eyes still hooded whilst his were wide open, awaiting hers to look into.

She opened them and he saw nothing but the love she wouldn't dare to speak of out loud in hers, as his reflected the same; without a doubt.

Why must they be so stubborn? Why must she be so afraid of taking a leap of faith?

But good things come to those who wait, he reminded himself and he would wait a lifetime if it meant eventually earning her love. He would work for it, he would earn his right for it no matter how impossible he might think it may be.

They slept in each others arms that night too, her face buried in his chest and he his nose nuzzled in her hair, inhaling that unique scent of apples and vanilla that lingered on her with every breath he took; it brought him comfort.

It brought them both the peace they longed for.

* * *

Robin woke up early to an empty bed, at first he wondered if Regina had gotten to work but it was her day off, where on earth would she be rather than the warm and comfy bed at this time?

With a groan escaping his throat, he rubbed the sleep off his eyes and rolled off the bed, he covered his mouth as he yawned while making his way out of the bedroom and down the hallway. It was the faint noise of the banging around the kitchen that gave away her whereabouts and made him smile. That woman couldn't stay away from baking no matter what.

"Good morning" The Brit greeted, his voice heavy with sleepy.

"Morning" Regina beamed, earning a confused look from him. "Here" she said, grabbing the spoon and shoving it in his mouth without even giving him a chance to realize what she was feeding him, but whatever it was it tasted delicious!

"What's this?"

"Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs." She explained, scooping a little more in the spoon for her to taste as well.

"It's delicious" He admired.

"It's a new recipe I've been intending to try for a while now, and I finally got the energy to get off my lazy ass and actually try it."

"I'm glad you did, I really like it." Robin grinned, he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his body. They remained in this position until she was done cooking their breakfast and placing it in a platter to serve with a loaf of bread.

The couple ate quietly, occasionally breaking the silence and speaking of a few things, nothing too serious and nothing that would hold an actual conversation but time passed and before they knew it, the plate was empty and the only thing left behind was the crumbs from the loaf.

Now that breakfast was eaten and their drinks were sipped, it was time to exchange the gifts they bought for one another. The saying goes _Ladies first_ but Regina insisted that he hands her hers first rather than the other way around, she was just too excited to see what he got her and so he did as he was told. She expected a small gift from him and just a single item but she was wrong, he'd gotten her a few things and some women might expect jewelry or perfumes from their partners for Christmas and most of them got just that but Robin knew her all too well to know that these things aren't exactly what caught her attention, but baking related supplies did.

Now that breakfast was eaten and their drinks were sipped, it was time to exchange the gifts they bought for one another. The saying goes Ladies first but Regina insisted he hands her hers first rather than the other way around, she was just too excited to see what he got her and so he did as he was told and brought in what he bought her. She expected one gift and something small, but he surprised her by bringing out a few boxes, all of which were baking related items and that only made her fall deeper in love with him. He brought her a new mixer as she told him hers was old and would most likely break down on her sometime soon and he got it in her favorite color, red.

The second gift came in a much smaller box, almost small enough that she thought it was a necklace or some sort of a small accessory at first but when she opened it, she was surprised to find a card, a business card to be exact.

"You didn't?" She gaped at him and he simply grinned at her, nodding his head slowly.

Regina told him a couple of weeks ago that she'd been planning on changing the logo of her bakery, the sign of it included but she'd been short on money. She showed him the design but she didn't expect him to go and do it for her. It was too much. "Robin, no I can't accept this." She shook her head but he refused to listen, pushing the box back into her hand and holding it there.

"Regina, please"

"But Robin—"

"No buts, Regina, I insist." He said, flashing her a reassuring smile. "The new sign is going to be put after New Year, the new boxes with the new logo is going to arrive soon as well."

"Thank you" The young baker whispered, her eyes filling with tears of joy. This man couldn't possibly be real, it was too good to be true.

"You're very welcome." Robin smiled.

The third gift and what she thought was the last one, was a box with different baking supplies based off the movie Snow White and the seven dwarves, he knew just how much she loved it.

"Okay, last one left." He announced, pulling out a velvet box from behind him and opening it to reveal a simple yet a very beautiful feather necklace, she wasn't sure if it was pure gold but again, she didn't really care. She loved it.

"It's beautiful" Regina whispered, tracing her finger delicately along the feather.

"It reminded me of you, and the tattoo on your wrist." He said, picking up the necklace. He placed it around her neck and moved her hair to the side before clasping both ends together.

"Now my turn" She grinned, "you're going to love this." She promised and he arched a brow, wondering what would it be that he would love.

Regina pulled a card from behind her and handed it over to him, nervously waiting to see whether or not he's going to like it.

 **The best gifts don't come from under the tree.**

 **Merry Christmas from our soon to be family of three.**

 **Baby Mills-Locksley**

 **August2016.**

"What?" Was the first word Robin spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper but she managed to hear his question, and though she already knew his reaction she was still worried because, what if he changed his mind the last minute? What if he doesn't want to be a father just yet?

There were so many what ifs running through her mind at the moment but one look at her, and they were long forgotten.

Robin stared at her, his blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. She watched him open his mouth, ready to speak before closing it again and instead of words, a light chuckle escaped through his lips.

"Robin?" She whispered, forcing his attention to her.

"We're having a baby" He finally managed and sniffled, the smile on her face grew wider and she nodded her head in confirmation.

"We're having a baby" She repeated and before she realized, she was pulled in his arms, his lips covering hers.

They were indeed having a baby, their little bundle of joy.

* * *

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 **A/N:** Sooo? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to review, it's what makes me happy and continue writing! For spoilers or questions, don't hesitate to message me.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hello, my Roses! Firstly, I'd like to say thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed also I would like to thank **GinaScrive** who kept me sane during my writer's block. By the way, she's a wonderful writer incase you haven't checked her out yet, please do!

 **A/N2:** This is regarding the fanfic, I know it's been progressing quite slowly but because this is basically the demo version of the story I'm writing (also first edition if you'd call it or just a tester) things are gonna get faster, don't worry though I wont have her give birth the next chapter lol and you guys would still get the cute Robin talking to the baby bump parts and him going with her to her appointments and more. However, worry not! There will also be a sequel to this story so I hope y'all wont be sad when this one ends :) Ok I'll shut up now! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year incase I wont update again until after the new year.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once Fandom, and my mistakes too.

* * *

They were expecting but that wasn't what worried Robin, what worried him is the question that repeated in his mind like a broken record.

Where do they stand now?

They're not really married, no, there are no papers to prove they are so the baby would most likely carry her last name rather than his. He didn't mind that though it disappointed him, he wouldn't mind granting their love-child—wait, _love-child_?

Yes, although none of them would admit it, at least not out loud, that baby was created through love that he carried for her and the other way around too.

But, where do they stand now?

"Now what?" The Brit broke the silence that invaded the livingroom, pulling Regina's attention from the show airing on the television to him instead.

"Now what, what?" She asked, confused by her own question as she arched a brow at him.

"Where do we stand now, Regina?" Robin said, lifting both his brows. He was dreading her answer but eager at the same time knowing very well it's a 50-50 situation. She would either invite him into her life or shut him out and let him be the man she wanted him to be; simply her sperm donor. But he didn't want to be just that, of course, she agreed on letting him be an actual father to the child but he didn't want just that, to pick his child on a certain day and return it in another, it's like being divorced when they weren't exactly married. He should've thought this through before agreeing, no, he didn't have regrets over this whatsoever but did he really want his son or daughter to grow up in two different houses and end up with a step-parents instead of both his or her parents? No, he didn't want that. It's too complicated for him, it would be even worse to a clueless little child.

"I don't know," she muttered and well, that wasn't an invitation neither did she shut him out however, it wasn't exactly an answer either. Robin inhaled a deep breath before exhaling a sigh, he too was lost and confused, as much as she seemed to be.

"We're practically living together, you have some of your stuff in my house and I have some in yours, why don't we just take it a step further?" Hesitation was clear in his voice as he spoke, he was scared of rejection; who wouldn't? Especially by the person they love.

"Further as in—"

"Either you move in with me or I move in with you."

And there it was again, that silence.

It went on for a few moments until it became unbearable, almost suffocating, "It's for the baby's sake, Regina, I know we should've thought this through before it happened but do you really want our kid to live a life where he has to spend the weekday by his or her mother and the weekend with me?" She sighed in return, "Do you want us to fight over who has the child for Christmas and who does in other holidays? It's unfair for the baby." He trailed off and she knew, he had a point but she was just too stubborn to admit it.

"Many children live with parents who are divorced and, or separated." The young baker argued.

"But it doesn't mean that our child has to live like that when we aren't exactly separated—"

"Well we aren't together either, Robin." She interrupted him harshly and instantly regretted it when she saw his face drop. He was hopeful but she took that away from him, "I'm so—"

"It doesn't matter, you're right, we're not together."

"Robin—" Regina started when she saw him stand off the couch but he simply ignored her, flashing her a weary smile and walking over toward the kitchen instead, that's when she realized, putting up her walls and acting so unkind to a person who'd been nothing but kind to her was something she should've never done.

* * *

Christmas went by with a few bumps along the way, the pair didn't fight nor argue but the tension between them was crystal clear despite Robin's attempts to ease it with a forced smile and a fake laugh but there was no use of it, she knew he wasn't in the mood for it although he was interacting with her uncle and helping her aunt Eva around. It wasn't until later that evening, back in the car and on the ride home did she get the chance to finally speak to him without interruptions and his excuses about her uncle calling him or her aunt needing help around the kitchen, or Mary Margaret asking to look after little Neal for a few moments.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper but he heard it, after all it was the only sound in the car aside from their breathing.

"It's fine"

Regina scoffed at his reply, this is exactly what he'd been doing all day, giving her short and simple answers, giving her a word or two rather than complete sentences and it bothered her because no matter how much she tries to start a conversation, he would end it almost instantly. "It's not okay, Robin and you know it so quit being this way."

But instead of arguing he kept quiet and focused on the road, when she opened her mouth to argue further about this subject, he reached out and turned the radio on, leaving Regina stunned at his bold move; did he just shut her up with music?

"Robin"

He turned the volume higher.

"Robin"

A little higher.

"Robin!" She snapped, making him press his foot at the brakes and causing her to jolt forward, if it wasn't for the seatbelt he insisted on her putting, she would've flown right out of the window.

"What!" He unintentionally raised his voice but who would blame him, she'd been giving him mixed signals ever since they kissed that night, they would act like a couple and even in public yet she shut him out and rejected him coldly earlier, claiming they are nothing but friends and he's nothing but the father of her child.

"I said I'm sorry!" Regina's voice was risen too by this point, her brows lowered and a scowl taking over her face.

"I will accept your bloody apology when you actually mean it, Regina." The Brit shot at her, because so far no matter how many times she does apologize, it just doesn't seem sincere; just an act of sympathy for how she made him feel. Perhaps the guilt was eating her alive, well good, she deserves it.

Maybe it'll teach her how to stop being rude to the people who actually care.

"It was sincere!"

He scoffed, "Sincere my arse, Regina. We both know that you continue apologizing only because of the guilt you're feeling, I know a guilty person when I see one and right now, that's the word written all over your face." He gestured his hand toward her face, only making her angrier as she swatted his hand away, "So please, I don't need your pity, keep your insincere apologies to yourself, Mills."

She shuddered, he hadn't called her Mills since they began sleeping together and it was the first time it ever made her uncomfortable.

* * *

The ride home was awkward, Christmas songs joyfully played from the radio yet the angry expressions on both their faces would give anyone passing them by, the impression that they were listening to anything but Christmas songs; Eminem perhaps? His songs seemed to be…intense.

Nothing was spoken between them after their argument and it was for the best, they both knew they needed a moment of silence to cool down instead of speaking to one another again, it would just make the slightest problems, bigger.

Regina stepped out of his car the instant it was parked and slammed the door shut, making Robin jump then growl; was he under the influence when he agreed to sleep with her? If he didn't love her, he would have probably killed her by now. Not literally though, he couldn't harm a fly.

"Careful with the door!" He yelled.

Regina rolled her eyes and bit back a devilish smile, aching to curl on her red lips. Annoying him was just so much fun!

.

.

.

The young baker made her way into the apartment and slammed the door shut, for a split second forgetting that Robin was following her. Her whiskey eyes widened and she sank her teeth down into her lower lip at the sound of the groan coming from the other side of the door, followed by a few muffled curses and all she thought about was, hopefully she didn't break his nose.

"Bloody hell, Regina!" Robin grumbled, entering behind her with a hand covering his nose.

"Is it broken?"

"No"

"Then you're alright."

Was she serious? He stared at her in disbelief; this woman truly was as heartless as his cousin warned him.

"I thought you didn't want to stay," Regina murmured, unbuttoning her coat and hanging it, not turning once to look at him and see if he was alright, she didn't care…well, that's a lie, she really did care but they're fighting therefore, she _kind of_ doesn't care.

"I'm not staying," He assured, tilting his head back before removing his hand to ensure that indeed he didn't break his nose, he was thankful that there wasn't any blood covering his palm, he couldn't afford going to the hospital at this moment to treat a broken nose, besides, it's Christmas night; who would want to spend Christmas night in the hospital?

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm taking my stuff—" His sentence was cut short at the sound of a cabinet slamming from inside of the kitchen where Regina was, and a few moments later she walked out, her arms folded and tucked beneath her breasts.

"You're what?" She questioned, arching a brow.

"I'm taking my stuff and leaving, I thought you made it quite clear that you would rather us be just friends and nothing more." Robin paused, giving her half a shrug before adding, "Friends don't sleep together every night."

Oh that bastard, he was just trying to make her feel guilty, she knew that but she wont fall for that, she wont fall for him, she wont beg him to stay when he doesn't want to—

"Please don't" The words left her mouth before she was able to stop them, her teasing smile was replaced by a slight frown and damn her hormones for making her this way.

"I'm sorry, what?" Robin asked, taking a step closer as if being near her would make him listen better to what she said.

"Please don't," she repeated.

"Why?"

"I don't—" She paused, thickly swallowing the lump knotted in her throat, "I don't want to be alone, I'm sorry for what I said."

Robin remained quiet for a moment while fighting the urge to smile at her, is it wrong to say that she sounded absolutely adorable? He felt relief because though she hadn't said it out loud and in exact words, she did in a way tell him that she needed him and that's all he wanted to hear.

He needed her too.

Rather than dwelling over this subject again, Robin crossed his arms infront of him and smiled, "Are you hungry?"

"What?"

"I said, are you hungry?" He repeated, watching as she chewed on her lower lip while thinking for a moment before nodding her head up and down quietly like a child. It only made his smile grow wider; perhaps she isn't that bad. He did hear somewhere that pregnant women tend to be hormonal, they experience mood swings as Regina is nowadays, perhaps that's the reason behind her behavior. "Pizza?"

She nodded her head again.

"Toppings?" Robin asked, reaching into his pocket and fished out his cellphone.

"Pepperoni"

"Hello? Yes…yes under the name Locksley, Robin Locksley. Yes, I'd like to place an order…no, not that address, another address under another number…yes, give me a second—" Robin paused and looked at her, mouthing her that he needed her number and she swiftly began telling him, to which he repeated after her into the phone. "Yes, garlic bread on the side—"

"No, I can't stand the smell of it." Regina whispered, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

Robin sighed, "No, cancel that please."

"Oh, bacon too!"

"Bacon?" The Brit asked, his brows knitted as he turned and looked at her.

"Yes, bacon too," She repeated.

Dealing with her during this pregnancy is going to be pure hell.

Eventually the order was placed, changed a couple of times thanks to _her Majesty_ who wouldn't decide beside just pepperoni and bacon or just cheese and beef, at the end they ended up adding them all as the toppings and finishing the call before she changes her mind once more and blame it on the baby. Again.

Whilst waiting for their dinner, well, _almost-midnight-second-dinner_ to arrive, the pair slipped out of their Christmas outfits and wore something more comfortable. They sat silently, watching the movie _Elf_ when Robin broke the silence by clearing his throat, "Have you thought of any name?"

Regina hummed, prying her attention away from the screen and to him, "What?"

"Names, for the baby, have you thought of any?"

"I have," She confirmed, turning around in her seat to face him, a smile playing over her lips. "But I wont tell you."

"Why not?" He whined, frowning.

"Because" Oh yes, because that was just a perfect reason, Robin rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on"

"No—" Regina paused, her smile growing bigger at the annoyance visible on his face, "but, I will tell you something." She took a hold of his hand and tugged, pulling him toward the open window. "Do you see these stars?" The young baker said, leaning forward and gestured her hand toward the three stars lined above each other.

Robin squinted his eyes and focused until they came in view, he glanced at her and nodded his head, "What about them?"

"I found comfort in them when I was a child, whenever I felt alone or upset, I would stare up at them wherever I might be and speak to them, eventually I named them," Regina chuckled, she crossed her arms and rested her chin over them. "If we have a girl, I'm going to name her after one of the stars."

He listened to her and instead of staring up at the stars, he stared at her, enchanted by the way she was speaking about something she loves so passionately. Her brown eyes twinkled as they did when she spoke about them, "Can I at least get a hint?" he pouted, looking at her pleadingly when she sighed and nodded.

"Fine" she smiled, "Her name would mean _unreachable wishes_."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, please don't forget to review, it makes me happy! Also, as I mentioned above this is basically a demo of what I'm writing but I will be including the main details, and if there's anything else you wanna read (ex; ultrasound, first kick, arguing about middle name…etc) then please mention them in the reviews and I'll make sure to include them.

Again, Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** My Roses! I'm so sorry that I've took a long time to update and aside from being busy, I was forced to deal with writer's block but here's a brand new chapter because I love you guys! :3 also, I wanna make a special shoutout and a thank you to a wonderful person, **GinaScrive** because she had to put up with my forced spoilers that I've thrown on her xD and because she really helped me through this chapter, truthfully I don't think I would have gotten it done if it wasn't for her and please, if you haven't checked her stories, you totally should! They're amazing.

 **A/N2:** I will be hinting something in this chapter, I wont say what or who is it about but if you really wanna know, message me about it.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once Fandom, and my mistakes too.

 **Extra Author's Note at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

The news of her pregnancy spread like wildfire as soon as it reached her mother. It traveled across the country and all the way to her sister, Zelena, and then to her cousin Mary-Margaret who also lived in a whole different State. From there it went on to their other relatives and a few of her mother's close friends too. Her aunt Eva and uncle Leopold had gotten the news as well, they phoned the couple and congratulated them, promised a visit some time soon for a proper congratulations and a little celebration.

Although the first appointment should've been as soon as she found out about her pregnancy, she hadn't gone to it until after she'd given Robin the news so he could be included too. It was the right thing to do in her opinion.

The look on his face was priceless when they were shown the little dot on the screen, their little _baby_ , the doctor had told them. His ocean blue eyes were locked on the square box the whole time as his hands closely held onto hers, he teared up just at that faintest sight of their unborn child and it made her wonder; how would he react when he sees the baby once it has developed its tiny legs and arms? How would he react when he listens to the heartbeat? She couldn't wait to find out.

The rest of the appointment went on smoothly. Her doctor, Rosalyn Bell made sure she was as comfortable as she could be while being examined, knowing very-well how nervous and anxious first time mothers could be, but it surprised her how calm Regina was during it. She'd done tests along the way, put her on parental vitamins and given her advices, a list of what to-do, what to expect and what to avoid during her pregnancy. She'd also given the pair the estimated due date which sparked a slight argument between them, not an argument perse but a discussion about how Regina counted using months rather than weeks and decided August was the baby's due date when Dr . Bell proved her wrong. It was September.

"I still can't believe you counted them as _nine months_ , didn't you know that you should've counted them by the weeks? 40 weeks?" Robin breathed out a laugh as he walked by her side before receiving an unladylike punch in the arm from her for his comment, "Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot her fist landed against, "For someone so short and tiny, you hit really hard."

Regina rolled her eyes at him and straightened her shoulders, tilting her chin up proudly, "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"But I shall take it as one."

Robin groaned.

This woman would be the death of him one day, but he wouldn't change a thing about her, he loved her too much to notice any flaw she might have; did she even have any? He raised an eyebrow at his silent question and mentally shook his head, a warm smile creeping on his face. No, she's definitely flawless.

"Any plans for New Year's Eve?" He asked and she shook her head, giving him half a shrug.

"I'm pregnant now, I can't exactly just go out, have a few drinks and celebrate."

Robin went quiet for a moment and thought, she had a good point and if she can't do that than neither is he going to. It's not fair. "How about we order in and watch TV, or maybe we could take a stroll around the city then watch the fireworks by the bridge?"

"I don't know," Regina mumbled and shrugged both her shoulders before glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, "aren't you going out?"

The Brit shook his head and offered her a bright smile, baring a little of his pearly white teeth, "I'm not, I'm completely free and at your service, _my_ Majesty." He moved his hand down to the small of her back and she instantly leaned into his touch.

" _Your_ Majesty?"

"Yes _, my_ Majesty?"

The brunette shook her head and let out a half-heartedly laugh, this man was something else and thinking about it, that was exactly what scared her. She knew she was — without any doubt in her mind — in love with him, she'd fallen harder than she ever intended but not that she'd even considered it; it just happened. But she couldn't help it, how could she when the man seems like a prince taken out a vintage Disney movie or a hero written in an overly-sweet and cliché love story? He was just too good to be true. Her smile faded at the thought of it and it didn't go unnoticed by Robin, the hand on her lower back immediately began moving, rubbing soothingly over the small of her back.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, and before she managed to answer him her phone began ringing.

"I'm sorry, one second—" Regina slipped a hand into her handbag and fished for her phone along the mess that filled it, she should've listened to Robin when he told her to sort it out because carrying 5 shades of MAC's lipstick, a small notepad along with a pen and a few other unimportant papers wasn't necessary. Finally, her fingers grasped the silver iPhone and pulled it out, she swiped to the side to answer before bringing the screen to her ear, "Yes, Emma?"

 _"_ _Where are you?"_

"Robin and I just finished with the appointment, why?"

 _"_ _Because I was looking everywhere for you! I went to your bakery and then I went to your apartment and—"_

"Okay, calm down," Regina interrupted when she sensed the panic rise within the blonde's voice, it was starting to panic her too. "Is my bakery okay?" she only hoped so and that it wasn't set on fire. She should've known better than to leave it in the hands of others, to think she'd learn from her mistakes, Regina scoffed silently.

 _"_ _Your bakery's fine, Reggie."_

The brunette exhaled the breath she wasn't aware she's holding and gave the concerned man standing by her side a nod, letting him know that everything's fine. "Then why are you freaking out!"

 _"_ _Because I've finished my shift and I don't know what to do, are you guys going home soon?"_

Regina pulled the phone away from ear and turned to Robin, "Are we heading back soon?" she asked and he nodded his head, "We are, why?"

 _"_ _Your place or his?"_

"Mine or yours?" The young baker glanced over at her pretend-husband who mouthed her _Mine_ and pointed to himself, "Robin's."

 _"_ _Great! I'm coming in…10 minutes"_

"Wait, Em—" the phone line went dead and she sighed, moving the phone away and clicking the side to turn off the screen before looking at Robin, "Trouble's coming."

That was all Robin hoped he _wouldn't_ hear because wherever his cousin goes, trouble follows. He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, "and here I was thinking of making love to you all day!"

Regina chuckled, giving his firm butt a squeeze before slipping her hand into the back pocket of his jeans, "Oh stop—" she rolled her whiskey eyes, "she's been a little too excited ever since you told her we're expecting, she texted me at three in the morning asking me if she could be the baby's God-mother."

Which she would be, Regina was certain of it and her mind was set on her decision. They've spoken about this ever since they'd been in high school, when life — though it wasn't easier, it wasn't as tough as it is today. They would lay in bed, legs kicked up against the headboard and eyes fixed up at the ceiling and they would talk for hours about their dreams, their wishes and future.

She found it rather funny how their futures turned out nothing as they thought of them to be though. How their dreams have changed from running away and start their own little rock band, move in together and get a puppy each, to this, to owning a bakery and having children and who would've ever thought the punk blonde teenager who owned nothing but the color black and had piercing all over would turn out to be one of the best cops who work for the Scotland yard and not to mention, own different colored clothes.

Regina herself could hardly believe it.

.

.

.

By the time they've reached Robin's house, Emma was already inside and making herself comfortable by walking around with a beer in hand and Mark Ronson's _Uptown Funk_ blasting in the background. None of them seemed to mind her presence anyways.

They walked in, greeted her and carried on as if it was one of their daily routines. While Robin went upstairs to change into sweats and a shirt, Regina exhaustedly plopped herself down on the couch.

"Did you see the baby?" Emma said excitedly, slumping down beside her and before her friend was able to answer, she bombarded her with one question after another, "Is it a girl?", "When is the baby coming?", "Did you guys pick a name yet?" and so it went on and on until Regina stopped her.

"Woah! Calm down, Em" the brunette said with a chuckle then leaned back into the couch, "Yes, we saw the baby, we don't know yet if it's a girl it's too early to tell, the baby's due on September and no, we didn't pick a name yet incase you haven't noticed, we found out a couple of days ago, babies are often left without a name even a day or two after they're born, you know besides Robin and I aren't in a rush."

Emma responded with a huff when she was given all the answers to her questions however, they weren't the answers she was hoping for, "Can I be the god-mother?"

"We've already spoken about this"

"When!"

Regina tilted her head to the side and looked at her with a deadpanned expression, "When we were 18—" she rolled her eyes and kicked her feet up over the coffee-table, "Remember the winter's barbecue?" Emma nodded, "with Mary-Margaret after we've graduated from high school."

"I remember"

"Remember when we laid down on the ground under the blankets, played up some music and stargazed?" Regina glanced over at the blonde who nodded her head, "Do you remember any of the things we talked about?"

"Ehh…"

The brunette snorted out a laugh and folded her arms, tucking them under her breasts, "Well, we talked about Mary-Margaret's exes—" Emma laughed at the memory, that pixie-haired brunette had so many crushes and boyfriends that they'd lost count but at least she'd settled now, married and with a son too. They were both happy for her, envied her slightly but who wouldn't? She'd found prince charming.

The man, just like Robin, seemed to have gotten out of a fairytale story. Not only was he handsome in his looks but a gentleman in his actions too, _please_ and _thank you_ always in his sentences, he would open the door and pull out a chair and both of them noticed how he would sit and play with their friend's hair despite it being short and they couldn't help the envy tugging inside of them; it's every girl's dream.

"I still can't believe she's the first one to get married, I always thought you'd be the one who'd get hitched first." Emma teased and Regina rolled her eyes.

"Well to the world, I've already tied the knot—"

" _That_ , you did" Emma interrupted, "but what does that has to do with me being a god-mother to your kid?"

"Well if you'd let me finish, you'll know!"

"Alright, I'm sorry" the blonde bit the inside of her cheek, "please continue."

The young baker rolled her eyes and sank further into the couch as she began again, "We also pointed at the stars that night and I told you what the three meant to me, you remember them right? The three stars atop of each other, the ones that were next to the two you pointed out at and named?"

Emma went quiet for a moment, going through the old, dusty memories that laid further back in her brain before nodding her head, "I do" Regina smiled, "I don't remember what you named them though but I do remember you saying if you had three girls, they'd be called after them and I know they hold some sort of a meaning to you."

"There we go!" Regina praised when her friend managed to recall a few of the past events, "They start with an M and that's all I'm telling you, because if this little sweet-pea turns out to be a girl, she's going to be named after one of them." she gazed down at her flat stomach and laid a hand over it, giving it a light rub.

"Again, what does that have to do with me being a god-mother?"

Regina sighed, rolling her eyes at her impatient friend, "If that subject interested you a back then, you would've remembered me telling you that you'd be my child's god-mother but again, nothing interested you back then aside from Neal." She dragged Emma's ex-boyfriend's name, a smug smile curled over her red lips.

He was everything the blonde thought about, talked about and apparently dreamed about too. It started out as a crush, something all three of them thought would remain nothing more than that but soon he showed interest in her too, a few talks and stolen glances here and there and they hit it off then came the first date, the second date and countless others after them.

Sadly, he passed away after battling a brain tumor for a little over a year.

The young baker noticed how all the sudden her friend's expression changed, from the wide smile that took over half of her face to the frown arching on her lips and instantly, she felt a tug of guiltiness overwhelm her, "I'm sorry."

Emma looked up at Regina and shook her head, dismissing her apology with a tight-lipped smile, "It's fine, it's been so many years already!" she brought the rim of the beer bottle to her lips and took a swig out of the bitter-tasting liquid. "I miss him, but I'm over it."

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, quietly.

Emma nodded her head and swatted her friend's hand away from her unnoticeable bump, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a quick chat with my unborn god-child and warn it about his or her mother…and father too apparently." She quickly added when they heard a frustrated groan coming from up the stairs, causing them both to silently chuckle at Robin. God knows what went wrong with him this time.

The blonde took her time and spoke to the little speck growing inside of her friend's womb, started with something funny by warning the baby about the noises it might hear in the middle of the night, "You shouldn't be scared, that's probably just your mom and dad making you a sibling." She'd received a couple of smacks around the back of her head for it, but then all the sudden she slipped into a heartfelt conversation with the fetus, softly telling it a little about its mother and a little bit about their friendship, how they've both been there for one another during the good and the bad times and she knew, if they didn't have one another, chances are, none of them would've been here today.

It brought tears to the brunette's eyes and she tucked her index and thumb under her friend's chin before tilting it up and making her look at her, telling her, "I picked the perfect god-parent for my kid."

They shared a smile and a laugh before Robin graced them with his presence.

* * *

It was a cold night but not unbearably cold, a shawl around the two women and a jacket over Robin and they were warm enough to spend the night outside by the grill. It was odd, most people would think so because who has a barbecue on a chilly December night _and_ in London? No one sane but whoever said these three friends were sane anyways?

The two women sat atop of the blanket they've spread over the grass while Robin stood by the griller with a flipper in hand, watching over the beef patties as they cooked. They've thought of white sauce pasta for dinner but Regina changed her mind in the last minute and fortunately for them, they've bought minced beef just the other day and were good to go.

"This is sad" Regina whispered, her gaze fixed down at the bright screen of her phone.

"What is?" Emma glanced over while shuffling the UNO cards around, mixing them well and readying them for their upcoming game.

"The whole refugees crisis and just—" the brunette's words were choked back, her hormones forcing the tears to well up in her eyes, "it's really sad, I mean, have you heard about that little boy's body that was found washed up on the shore?" she looked up at her friend, a frown painted over her face. Who could blame her, her heart ached for them. They were ripped out of their homes and into this mess, it's not like this is their choice.

Emma sadly nodded her head, "Yeah, I've seen that."

"I mean, what's their fault? They're just innocent children."

"What's wrong?" Robin stood behind Regina and laid one hand over her shoulder while placing the patties on the table with the other.

"Your _wife's_ hormones are all over the place, she's crying over the Syrian refugees." Emma explained.

"I'm not crying," the brunette argued despite the tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes.

Robin nudged her off the chair and sat before pulling her down on his lap, he lifted a hand up and brushed his thumbs over her eyes to wipe away the tears before they'd even get the chance of falling, "Is this it?" he whispered and the brunette nodded her head. Robin couldn't help the smile that crept over his lips and tightened his arms around her waist before pressing a kiss to her shoulder, he would comfort her but he was lost at words. He couldn't promise her that everything will be alright because chances are, they won't be. There was no way of telling when things would get better in this world as for now, they only seemed to worsen but he had hope, others did too and maybe one day, things will get better.

Emma picked up a bread roll and cut through the half of it before placing a beef pattie in-between, she began preparing her burger first before moving on to Regina's and Robin's. A little layer of Regina's special spicy mayo for the three and vegetables upon their request.

It was juicy and delicious, Robin told her. He praised her ability of mixing up whatever was provided in the kitchen to make such a thing and she shrugged, it wasn't such a big deal as he made it sound like. She'd often take whatever she could find and mix it up to prepare a meal or two, she'd gotten used to it.

* * *

Robin was on his second burger, Regina was almost done with her first one as was Emma too but their food was long forgotten at the intensity of the game. Not everyone would find a simple game of UNO cards interesting but again, those three were not like everyone else, they were different and in a good way.

"Yes!" Regina exclaimed, wriggling her perfectly manicured brows as she slapped down the last card she had in hand on the table. Winning for the second time in a row.

"You cheated" Emma claimed, throwing the last of her 4 cards and in-between of them was the _draw four_. Upon seeing that, her friend's eyes grew wide as the laugh roared out of her loudly.

"Oh you're going down, blondie."

"Oh no, I agree with Emma," Robin butted in, "you cheated." he accused her as he revealed his remaining 5 cards and the brunette noted how his were even worse than Emma's. He had two _skips_ and a _wild_ one, making him the loser of this round.

Regina rolled her eyes, "Just because you guys don't know how to play, doesn't mean I'm a cheater." she clicked the pen and scribbled cursively their total on the notepad. Giving herself a winner _UNO_ , Emma a _40_ for the _draw four_ and an _100_ for Robin. "Look at that! 20 more points and you'll beat Emma onto becoming the next UNO loser." she teased.

Being the loser of the previous round, Robin shuffled the deck of cards around whilst muttering words of hopes and wishes of winning this round. It made Regina grin at the sight of it and he scoffed in return, sending her a glare.

Reaching for the small bluetooth speaker, Regina connected her iPhone with it and immediately began scrolling down her playlist. There were many songs that caught her attention, like Adele's new hit _Hello_ and Sam Smith's _Writing's on the Wall_ but she wasn't in a mood for sad songs that would make her sob, no, she wanted songs that would set her in a winning mood, after all she is the winner so far. Going back and forth, Regina finally settled for Eva Simon's song _Policeman_ featuring Konshens and received a stunned look from Robin, "What?" she questioned, confusedly.

"I just…I never thought you'd be into _that_ kind of music." He stammered through his confession.

"There's a lot of things you still don't know about me, Locksley." Regina flirted, giving him a quick wink.

"Well I intend to figure out every little thing about you, Mills—"

"Guys!" Emma snapped, snatching the deck of cards from her cousin's hands, she immediately divided them into half and began distributing to them, "Seriously, I don't need to know how my best friend and cousin plan on fucking." the blonde shuddered at the image of it and her stomach turned. She was scarred and for life, without a doubt in her mind.

7 cards for Robin, 7 cards for Regina and 7 for herself, Emma slid the rest across the table for future draws, moving it closer to Regina's side in hope she'd be the one earning the most cards this round and losing.

It went on just as excitedly as the previous rounds, just as intense and fun too, filled with laughters and accuses of who's cheating and who isn't and it also went on longer this time.

"Who's down to two cards?" Regina asked, tilting her head from side to side to crack and straighten her stiffen neck.

"Not me" Emma whispered.

"Same" Robin reached his hand toward the draws and pulled out a card to add to his own before glancing at Regina who had a rather devilish smile on her face, "What's that smile for?"

"Oh no" the blonde's eyes widened.

"Oh yes" Regina pulled out a _draw four_ and tossed it over Robin's card before turning her attention to Emma again, "Drink it up, _love_ "

Emma groaned in frustration and began collecting the extra cards she was forced to carry. _More burden to hold_ , she sighed.

"And oh, by the way—" Regina bit down her lower lip and gave the two the most innocent smile she could master, "Uno"

"But I thought you had more than two!" The Brit said.

"I never said I did" the brunette fluttered her thick lashes sweetly at him and he narrowed his ocean blue eyes in return. This woman was smart, she deceived them when they least expected it.

She may have the looks of an angel but she most definitely is a devil in heart.

The round went on with a little tension and cautious glances between the players. Now that Regina held on to a single card, both Robin and Emma had her as a target.

"Your turn" Emma mumbled with a mouthful of the burger and eyed her cousin from the corner of her eyes.

Robin smirked, for the past 3 turns Regina seemed to have been throwing the same color, _red_ and the smile didn't leave her face, so it might as well be the color she's holding onto right now as well. Confident with himself, he puffed out his chest and flicked a blue colored  6 card onto the pile infront of them when he heard a loud, unladylike snort coming out from the brunette on his right.

"That was a bad move, Locksley" She puckered her plump lips and shook her head, disappointed of his poor move before tossing the last card she held onto.

 _Red_

Though he was right, it was a red card, he never expected that it would hold the same number as the one he'd thrown. 6 and it gave her the opportunity to change the color to what it used to be, earning her another winning UNO.

"Wait—" He picked up the card she'd thrown and tilted it upside down before grabbing his own and doing the same to it, that's when Regina stopped her little celebration and gaped at the smirk he had tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You didn't win, mine's a 9, yours is a 6."

"Oh no, it has a line under it therefore it's a 6" Regina argued and he shook his head, refusing to let her win this round too. "That's how we've been playing for years, Robin, you can't just go and change the rules after God knows how many years later!"

But the Brit was having none of that, he flicked her card back to her before withdrawing another and handing it over.

"I'm not taking it, I won and you—" Regina's sentence was cut short when she picked up the card to find a _draw four_. Jackpot. She shifted in her chair and straightened her back before looking at him with a poker-face. "I'm letting this go, and only this once."

Robin nodded his head and laughed, but his laughter soon died in his throat when Emma slipped on a reverse card and Regina slapped down the _draw four,_ yelling "UNO" she looked at him, the devil inside of her making an appearance as she slowly, and in a teasing way began withdrawing four cards and slipping them his way, "My color would obviously be red."

Emma groaned, despite all the cards she had in hand the color red was none of them. She drew a card and glanced over at her best friend then turned her attention to her cousin with a pouty lip.

"She won" Robin announced defeatedly as he tossed the remaining of his cards before Emma followed and Regina happily tossed her red 6 too.

"I won, chica!" the young baker announced with a glee.

"I'm heading out" Emma rolled her eyes and unfolded her legs, she swung them off the chair and stood up before arching her back, her butt was sore too; for how long have they been just sitting here?

"It's too late, stay the night." Robin offered but she shook her head, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"I'd rather not be scarred any more than I already am, I have no intention onto staying back and listening to you two—" Emma pointed, gesturing her finger at the pretend-husband and wife, "have sex."

"We..no..not..we won't have sex!" Regina stuttered, a blush rising over her cheeks. Her best friend speaking about her sex life was the last thing she'd ever thought about happening but here it was happening, and the fact that it was her cousin only made things worse.

"We won't" Robin assured her.

Emma silently gave it a thought for a moment and glanced over at her wrist-watch, it truly was late and she was just too tired to actually call up a taxi, "Fine, but no sex"

"No sex."

Both Robin and Regina vowed at the same time but didn't Emma know better than to trust those two?

Because as soon as she laid underneath the quilt in the guest-room, her nightmare began. The banging of the bed Robin and Regina shared coming from the room down the hall was too loud and she feared she's not the only one putting up with this torture, but the neighbors too. _Poor neighbors_ , Emma thought. She pulled the pillow over her head in attempt to escape the traumatizing sounds of her best-friends loud moans and begs mixed in with her cousin's groans.

The last thing she needed to hear right now was a continuous _Oh yes, right there, please don't stop_ and _fuck Robin,_ because yes, that is certainly what her friend was doing right now and she wasn't even one bit happy about it.

The blonde could only hope this night ends before she ends them two.

"No sex, my ass…" she scoffed.

* * *

 **N/A:** Firstly, I want to thank everyone for reading and please don't forget to review, your reviews make me happy. Secondly, I wanna point out that this chapter was finished at 6am so if there are mistakes, bear with me? Point them out kindly to me and I'll be happy to change them.

Also, this is regarding the story. I was thinking of starting another (Still about the Bump though) but it would be a series of one-shots seeing as the story itself would progress faster now after I mentioned previously what exactly this FF is. It would feature the OQ moment that tortured Emma right here also the New Years and many more, so tell me what you think about this and all.

Oh, jealous Robin would appear in the next chapter so brace yourselves, my Roses!

 **Note:** I'm not quite sure how others play that card game UNO however that's how we play it where I'm from, or at least how my family and I do.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Firstly I wanna apologize for taking toooooooooo long to update, I've explained at the end of this chapter why but I really hope you would enjoy reading this chapter.

 **A/N2:** I also want to mention that I have an ask . fm for those who might wanna ask me anything regarding this story or anything else (/NonaRose_) and if there is anything else you would like me to include in the story please let me know.

Currently working on/Added to the list (for the one-shots FF).

Their love making with Emma staying over. First heartbeat First kick

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once Fandom, and my mistakes too.

* * *

Work had been keeping the couple away from each other lately.

Things had been hectic in the bakery, with the holidays piling up one after another.

First came Valentines Day, then came Mothers Day and now Easter was just around the corner. The brunette barely had enough time to scratch her head, let alone give Robin some much needed attention but, he hadn't been so free with time either. Unfortunately for him, he'd been laid off his job and for a reason that wasn't provided for him, just an envelope that contained his last salary and a box to pack his things with and leave.

Regina offered him a job at the bakery, it wasn't much, nothing more than a delivery guy as she was intending on expanding her business further but he passed. She'd already helped him get the position in the publishing company her uncle worked at by recommending him to Leopold, and now she was doing it all again? It made him feel less manly knowing that the woman he should be taking care of, is taking care of him instead.

It wasn't acceptable.

"Please let me do something" Regina pleaded but he shook his head and refused; she felt helpless.

"You've helped enough, Regina" He said, offering her an assuring smile to which she responded to with a frown. She hated seeing him so worked up and stressed, and the fact that they're expecting a baby in a little over 5 months didn't help the situation either. Regina knew, he wanted to provide not only for their child but for her too despite her arguments and reassuring that she can very well take care of herself. She was his responsibility too now but he was carrying more than he could and on his own too.

"Why don't you try your luck in schools or universities?" she suggested, "you've studied _English literature_ , I'm sure there's a school somewhere in London in need of an english teacher or a professor." But Robin simply shrugged both his shoulders, and to her that was giving up, that was admitting defeat. She parted her lips to argue and speak when a thought hit her a like a train. The whole reason behind him even studying _English literature_ was because he aimed to be a writer, an author or so he told her a while back. She stumbled across many of his unfinished work in the past, they were wonderful stories with much potential; too wonderful to simply be laying in the attic covered in dust and spiderwebs. "Write."

Robin lifted his head and looked up at her, his brows knitted in confusion, "what?"

"Write" Regina repeated, "you told me before, you wanted to be a writer and you've written so many things! Wonderful stories, Robin, so write."

The Brit scoffed and shook his head, "Books, Regina books often fail—" and sadly, he was right about that, "I'm not going to waste time writing a stupid novel when I could get a real job. I'm going to get back on my feet and find me a real job, in a week or so." He trailed off with a promise.

"I make enough, and my parents will gladly help if we're ever short on money—"

"I don't want help from your parents, Regina, this is _my_ family and _I'm_ going to provide for it." He unintentionally snapped, "I don't want to discuss this subject any further." ending the subject right there despite her dislike.

It's been a few days since then, almost a week and the couple hasn't spoken ever since. Though it was all his fault, Robin didn't like it at all, not because he was forced to spend his nights restless on the couch where everyday he would wake up with a backache or a sore neck, or because he would return home without being greeted by her gleeful _Hello_ and her kisses, along with a few forced bites of whatever new recipe she would be trying — scratch that.

That was one of the reasons he hated not speaking to her.

He missed her kisses but mostly, he missed the little things about her too. He missed having her wrapped up in his arms at night with his nose nuzzled into her hair, inhaling her sweet, calming scent of the flourish shampoo that often would be mixed with a hint of the bakery. Vanilla cake, chocolate cookies and whatever other baked goodies she'd be making on that day's work.

He missed her voice and the way she would ramble on about the silliest little things, how excited she'd get over another episode of Supernatural or that godforsaken American Horror Story, he never understood how she loved it, sure it had a nice story and a twist to your usual thing but there were moments where he could not stop gagging.

But most importantly, he missed her smile. The one that would brighten up his day no matter how bad it might've been.

Robin simply couldn't go through another day without all these things.

* * *

Knowing that upon Dr. Bell's request, Regina was forced to cut her work time into half because standing all day long on her feet would give her nothing but a backache and sore feet, Dr. Bell warned her. It surprised Robin when the brunette actually listened to Rosalyn, normally, she would be too stubborn and put up a fight especially when it comes to something she's very passionate about. But for the past week she'd been returning home early, hours before dinner time which gave him an idea.

He would cook her dinner.

Robin went to the supermarket around the corner of his place and bought all the things he needed for the perfect candlelight dinner.

Tonight, he's going to prove to her with his actions that he truly is sorry, as his words seemed to be without any importance to her.

" _I don't want words, I want action._ " She told him.

Then action is what she'll get.

The Brit went over and over the menu he'd set up for tonight's dinner.

 _Caesar salad with grilled chicken_

 _White Sauce Pasta with breadsticks and olive oil dip_

 _Molten Lava cake_

No, she might not be in the mood for all that tonight, ever since she'd gotten pregnant she became a picky eater, Robin thought.

 _Loaded Hasselback Potatoes_

 _Buffalo Chicken Burgers_

 _Brownies and vanilla bean ice cream_

Yes, that would be perfect.

He knew, she was romantic but in her own way. She would much rather have burgers and pizza or any other takeout over a plate of flavorless pasta or undercooked piece of salmon with salad on the side and truthfully, he loved that about her.

Robin flavored the boneless chicken breasts with spices and covered them, letting them rest in the fridge and soak in all the flavors until he's done with everything else. He thinly cut small lines along the potatoes but not all the way through, just enough for them to be easily pulled apart after being cooked but still remain as a one whole vegetable during the whole process. In-between each three cuts he placed a decent amount of butter, he sprinkled them with salt and pepper before tossing them onto a baking sheet and into the oven to fully bake. Meanwhile, he got everything ready for the burgers, mixed the batter he planned on coating the chicken breasts with and the buffalo sauce mix in another bowl, he washed and cut some lettuce and took out the slices of mild cheddar cheese and set them aside.

The Brit glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall, Regina should be home any moment now and the thought of it made him smile.

Tonight he was going to make things right.

* * *

True to his belief, Regina arrived just a few minutes afterwards but she wasn't alone. It was obvious, there was an unfamiliar laugh almost dominating her sweet one.

It came from a male.

His curiosity got the best of him, with furrowed brows knitted in confusion, Robin took a step back and out of the kitchen to find her standing by the door with another man.

Tall, pale skinned…and Irish?

So it seems it like with his accent.

"You're home" Robin offered both of them a polite smile but on the side, he felt rage. The green-eyed monster clawing at him to get out. She hadn't been laughing like that around him in over a week or so, she barely smiled too but this man, whoever he might be, made her laugh in a way she'd forgotten all the stress and her worries too.

It made him…it made him…jealous!

He should be the only one making her laugh as if there wasn't any worry on her mind.

Not him.

Robin's eyes took in the guy's details, every feature and expression to find a flaw but he seemed flawless.

It didn't help his situation.

Short, ruffled brown hair and a beard he seemed to have forgotten to shave for a week growing along his cheeks and jaw. He couldn't tell from afar but his eyes seemed light. Perhaps bluish grey, maybe? _Perhaps._

Regina's laugh died, she cleared her throat "I am" and hung her coat before taking the guy's coat too and hanging it beside hers.

"Who's your friend?" The Brit muttered bitterly, he was bottling up the anger bubbling inside him. He worked hard and put a lot of thought into this dinner, he wanted to ask for her forgiveness and show her how much she means to him and she couldn't pick any other day aside from this one to bring home a friend? Robin was angry.

"Graham Humbert," the guy introduced himself as, extending his hand for a shake to which Robin accepted, giving it a firm squeeze in return as a _back off_ but it seems like Graham didn't get it, he mindlessly placed a hand over Regina's arm and Robin mentally counted to three, in four different languages to calm himself, "You?"

"I'm Robin Locksley, Regina's—"

"Friend," she cut him off, "he's my friend."

The Brit gritted his teeth and retreated his hand, he clutched tightly to the kitchen towel he was holding. _God help me._

He wasn't sure who he wanted to kill first. That man who was being too touchy around the woman he loved that also happened to be carrying his child, or the woman herself for driving him crazy by her actions.

Perhaps Graham was just here to drop her off, Robin thought and a faint smile began appearing on his face again—

"Graham's staying for dinner."

 _Oh Jesus Christ!_

 _One…two…three_

 _Uno…dos…tres_

 _Un…deux..trois…_

"If that's alright, of course." Graham said and Robin nodded his head slowly, up and down when all he wanted to do was grab the Irishman by his arm and shove him right out of the door. Unfortunately him, he wasn't that type of a man besides, that would only make things worse between him and Regina.

Kicking out her _friend_ would just piss her off.

"Of course," Robin offered the both a tight-lipped smile, "I hope you like buffalo chicken burgers." He fought the urge to roll his eyes and walked back into the kitchen to finish preparing what was supposedly meant to be his and Regina's date dinner. Now he was forced to add another plate for the man who ruined his plans.

Three burger patties were deep fried and sandwiched in-between toasted buns. The hasselback potatoes were returned back into the oven for the cheddar in-between the slits to melt before the brownies took their place.

Robin scooped a dollop of the sour cream and plopped some on top of each potato, he sprinkled on some finely chopped spring onions and crispy bacon bits too before serving them.

He couldn't help that tug of jealousy that rose within him every time he would hear Regina laugh around that man or to his stupid jokes, he was certain she didn't understand most of them due to his accent but went along and laughed anyways. Graham had done him no wrong, but he despised him with every ounce of his being.

"Water or juice?" Robin asked.

"Water" Regina answered, not giving him a single second of attention.

Was she not realizing how much she was hurting him by doing so? Perhaps not, Emma did warn him that Regina wasn't like most women. She was heartless yet she had a heart that was as big as the universe, it was confusing really but at the same time, he understood it.

Somehow, in an odd way, he understood.

He only wished she would understand that he truly is sorry for snapping at her the other day.

With a slight frown over his face, he gave her a nod and poured her a glass of the icy cold water, a couple of ice cubes escaping their way out of the jug as well. He set her glass close to her and took his usual seat beside her.

"It smells delicious." Graham complimented and Robin simply smiled.

The dinner was quiet, barely a few words were spoken here and there but nothing by Robin, there was no use of him saying anything knowing very well he would be ignored by Regina, and he didn't feel like speaking to this Graham guy. Not at all.

He ate in silence, mentally patting himself on the back for the dinner he prepared. He wasn't much of an expert by any means but he'd done great in such a short timing.

"Are you okay?" Graham asked, lifting a brow at Regina's squirming.

She hummed and nodded her head, giving him a smile "The baby wont stop kicking lately, I think it's enjoying dinner as much as I am." She chuckled and for a moment the bright smile returned on Robin's face.

Not only was _she_ enjoying the dinner he cooked but their baby seemed to approve of it too. This was more than just a great sign that he's almost there, almost forgiven—

"May I feel it?" Graham spoke.

Robin balled his fists in anger and the food he managed to swallow down began rising again, "Excuse me" he whispered and stood, almost knocking back down his chair before marching out of the dining-room and down the hallway to their bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

He loved her and so much, that this was hurting him.

The Brit leaned back against the door and sighed, his arms folded infront of his as he trying to get his anger under control.

He shouldn't care this much, she was nothing but the woman carrying his child and to her, he was nothing more than a sperm donor but the feelings he had for her couldn't simply be ignored. They were too strong and he knew, she felt them too.

Why else would she sleep by his side every night and curl up in his arms?

Greet him everyday with a long and meaningful kiss rather than a peck? Why would she share her darkest secrets with him if he meant so little or nothing to her? Tell him about the scar, something even her own family didn't know about?

Most importantly, why was she so against letting herself feel?

* * *

Robin remained in the bedroom, busying himself by reading a book on what to expect while expecting a baby. He was eager to learn every little thing he stumbled upon. How their child was growing inside of her and how she was feeling too because he wanted to help and in every possible little way even though she was pushing him away; he still continued reading on the little notes and advices anyways.

"What was all that about?"

The Brit lifted up his gaze to meet Regina's glare, he was thoroughly into the reading that he hadn't noticed her walk in. "What do you mean?" _Oh so now you're talking to me?_

"The rude way you spoke to Graham, leaving in the middle of dinner, slamming the door shut?" she angrily gestured her hand toward the door.

Robin scoffed, "Firstly, I was nothing _but_ polite to him Regina and you don't get to tell me what to do, after all I'm just your _friend_ , aren't I?" the brunette rolled her eyes and he repeated his question, his voice unintentionally rising, "Aren't I?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you." she turned her back on him and went through her side of the closet.

"No you are," Robin slammed down the book onto the surface of the nightstand and got up, "I did all of this, made you dinner, got you flowers, I even went and got that posh strawberry tea you're so in love with and yet not only did you invite that man into our house but you let him stay for dinner and feel _my_ child kick!"

"Your house!" Regina bit, stabbing him in the chest with her index finger, "and how was I supposed to know what's going on in that nut-sized brain of yours!"

"That's not the point, you haven't even asked me if I'm alright with him joining us!"

"What's next, Locksley?" she took a step forward, "asking permission to go and see my parents? asking permission to go out with my friends?" his mouth fell open for words to escape but she silenced him before he'd gotten the chance to talk, "You don't get to speak, just because I'm carrying your child doesn't mean you own me, I am not a property to be owned, Locksley and if I was, I sure as hell wouldn't be yours."

"Enough," the Brit cut her off with a warning but she continued rambling and going on about how this is not what she wanted out of their deal, how they were nothing more than just friends. He grabbed her by her biceps, turned her and backed her against the wall, "How could someone with such a big heart be so cruel?" He spat.

"Robin" Regina grimaced, squirming to get out of his grip.

"No, _you_ don't get to speak this time." Robin said, "I can barely handle you not talking to me, ignoring me all day long but this was the last straw." his baby blue eyes held an amount of sadness she'd not seen in them before. She never intended for it to come this far, she didn't think it would hurt him by making him a little jealous. "The way he kept his hand on your arm or your back, how he had made you laugh so freely when I couldn't even get a smile out of you. How do you think that made me feel?"

"Why should it make you feel anything, why do you care?" she spat back at him.

"Because I do care" _I love you._

Regina scoffed, "Doesn't give you the right to do what you did back there."

"I never claimed that it did."

"Then let go of me," the brunette groaned, she placed both of her hands flat over his chest and pushed him back, "I didn't even want a father for my child but I allowed you to be a part of all of this because I'm a nice person."

"Oh, so you never wanted me to stay over or the other way around?" Robin lifted a brow and she shook her head, folding her arms infront of her chest. "and you never wanted to have sex with me even _after_ you've gotten pregnant?"

Regina went quiet and he smirked, _thought so._

"Never wanted to give me a goodbye kiss before I go to work and you never wanted to cuddle up while watching Netflix, or anything of that sort?"

Still nothing but silence until Robin snorted.

"I hate you" Regina muttered.

"Sure you do, because that's exactly what you make me think when you scream my name, Mills." the Brit smirked.

"Get out"

He arched a brow, confusedly "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said get out" Regina repeated.

"You're kicking me outside of my own home?" This wasn't the time for him to be cracking jokes and trying to be funny, Robin was very well aware of that, he could practically see the smoke coming out of her and the anger in her eyes, she would probably be able to shoot holes into walls if she stared long enough but that only made him want to push her buttons even more, "Then you're going to take my clothes and start going by the name Robin Locksley?"

The brunette laughed dryly before rolling her eyes, oh he was _so_ funny. "You know what, I'm leaving" she walked over toward the closet and began gathering her clothes, holding as much as she could before setting them down on the edge of the bed and returning to grab more, "and you wont be included in the baby's life—" she gave him a deadpanned expression in attempt to show him that she was serious about it but he simply smiled at her. That bright and incredibly attractive smile— No that smile was nothing but annoying it was making her blood boil. Regina groaned out of frustration, "God! If I regret anything in this life it would be meeting you, Robin Locksley!" she yelled but somehow the Brit still found it so amusing, his smile only grew wider and it angered her more. "I will no longer be stuck with you, baby or not and I want a fucking divorce!"

There it was that silence again enveloping the bedroom. Regina stared at him with her lips slightly parted, she studied his expression but it gave nothing away. Not a trace of emotion that would help her understand what he was feeling. She thickly swallowed the lump that formed and tightened her throat before clearing her it to speak, however no words came out when she saw him start to walk over to her. Robin didn't stop until his lips were merely a few inches away from hers, his breath warmly tickling over hers as he heaved.

She was waiting for him to talk, to blow up on her face like a time bomb ticking and waiting to explode but what happened next was something she didn't expect from him, not at all.

He cleared his throat and her breath was hitched, stolen from her own, "You do realize we're not really married, right?"

and at that, Regina couldn't help but bust out in laughter, a warm heartedly laugh bubbling its way right from her belly and he joined in, resting his forehead against hers. Robin believed she would push him away, after all he might have stepped over the boundaries she'd set after their fight but instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, pressing a loving kiss over his lips.

"He's gay you know" she whispered.

"Who?"

"Graham, he's gay" Regina smirked, "so if there was anyone here who should have been jealous, it should've been me and not you, because right after you left he would stop talking about how firm your ass looked in jeans." the brunette explained, ending her sentence with a soft chuckle and Robin's face flushed. It made her laugh a little harder and a little louder but he didn't mind because he'd missed her laugh and if she was laughing just to make fun of him, she could do it for as long as she wished.

* * *

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 **A/N:** Thank you for reading it till the end, I know this might have not been what everyone expected from a jealous Robin but I really didn't know what to write! It took me long to update because I had to think of something and that was all I came up with. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it, please don't forget to review, it truly makes me happy :)


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hello Roses! So sorry it took me too long to update, aside from being busy with personal things I also didn't have the muse to write (unfortunately) BUT look! I updated after what seemed forever so I hope I'm all forgiven :) I also wanna say that I'm incredibly overjoyed by the amount of people who are still reading this story, your reviews make me so happy so please don't stop them.

 **A/N2:** I know I promise One-shots and believe I am writing them but with the writers block, it's a little hard but there will be a series of one-shots regarding this story :) Anyways, without holding y'all back any longer, here's the new chapter, happy reading!

 **PS** ; someone enters the story this chapter, someone adorable and cute, I think you all know who.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once Fandom, and my mistakes too.

* * *

The days dragged by after the incident that took over dinner, and although everything seemed to be falling back to its right place, something still wasn't as it used to be. Robin noticed, despite Regina's best efforts in trying to make things normal again, there was still that bit of tension that thickened the air whenever they were together. He knew that there were many things that were left unsaid between them, and he tried to change it. _Tried_.

He would bring up the argument at night but she would claim she's too tired and go to sleep, bring it up first thing in the morning and she would tell him she's later for work. He'd even tried when visiting her at the bakery by noon but somehow she kept skillfully getting out of every conversation he tried to start. The Brit didn't know what scared her so much about this certain subject but it irritated him because in spite of their late night cuddles and stolen kisses, he didn't know where they stood, were they just friends as she claimed the other day or where they more than that?

He hoped more.

Well, now with that being said, Robin was also worried about himself.

It was like a time-bomb ticking in the house, either Regina gets what she wants and whenever (especially when it comes to food) or he gets kicked to the couch, sometimes she'd go on full evil mode and throw him on the floor with a tough pillow and paper thin bedsheets as blankets.

 _"_ _That's for not getting me a burger from Five Guys."_ she once said and shook her finger at him, despite the fact that it was 4 in the morning and not a soul could be found awake, roaming the streets of London aside from the drunk and the police cars going back and forth, their sirens alarming everyone sound asleep. But can he knock some sense into her stone hard head? Nope.

He missed the time where she would ask for the odd but simple things, the food he could actually provide like heating up some milk for her cereal and melting a spoonful of peanut butter in it, or toasting a piece of bread roll with the mixture of ketchup and mayo spread inside of it and sliced up gherkins, or pickles as she would call them, and as disgusting as it might've sounded to him, boxed mac 'n' cheese with a dollop Nutella mixed thoroughly into it and for garnish, as she would say, some powdered sugar on top.

He couldn't stop gagging as he watched her eat it, and actually enjoy her weird creation. _Mad food scientist._

"What do you want for dinner?" Robin asked as he walked by her side down the busy streets of London, toward where the Saturday Market was set up. It was one of her favorite spots, he noticed and despite the hustle and loudness of the crowd, she would remain calm as she walked by each booth and shop, taking in the sight of whatever they had for sale. From freshly grown local fruits and vegetables to faux fur coats and baby outfits, Regina even stopped by a couple who sold miniatures of London's famous red bus and the black taxi, or cab as she called it.

"I don't know," she confessed, shrugging both her shoulders and giving him a glance, "what are you in mood for?"

The Brit was surprised, no, he was entirely shocked by the fact that she was asking _him_ what he wanted to eat! She hadn't done that ever since she'd gotten pregnant and began craving all the weird things she puts in her body. "What am _I_ in the mood for?" he arched a brow and she nodded her head.

"Well after getting those gummies, _little speck_ isn't craving anything else." _For now_ , Robin continued her line, mentally.

He rolled her eyes, she would always blame the baby for her odd, almost inedible cravings, "Pizza?"

Regina squinted her eyes as she thought almost too hard for a simple question, she chewed lower lip and hummed an unspecific tone before nodding her head, "Yep, sounds good to me!" she beamed before turning her attention to the lady infront of her, selling all different styles and sizes of baby outfits. "Hey, Robin—" she picked up a tiny little suit and laid it over the swell of her stomach, "look at this, he would look absolutely adorable in this, wouldn't you think?"

"He?" Robin arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest, "Just yesterday you couldn't stop calling the baby _she_ and _her_ , now randomly it's a _he_?"

"I don't wanna get attached to calling Speck _her_ only, what if Rosalyn tells us it's a boy?" she told him, "We gotta be prepared!"

The Brit rolled his eyes. Yet another thing to add to the list of the things Regina does to drive him crazy.

Although he tried talking her out of buying any clothes just yet, she still bought the little suit and on top of it, she'd gotten a summer dress too. He hoped she didn't think that baby would just magically become twins, she seemed smart when he first met her but he was starting to doubt that now.

Was the baby draining her energy _and_ stealing some of her intelligence? He would ask if he didn't know all too well that she would smack him for it.

"Where to, _my_ Majesty?" he teased, looping his arm with hers and she instantly leaned into him.

"The park, the weather is nice and we both know how rare that is." she chuckled and he nodded in agreement.

After all, England was known for its rather cold weather throughout the year but not that Regina hated it, infact she loved it, would take the cold weather over the humidity of the summer any day and without any questions asked.

* * *

Hyde Park was huge but beautiful, every two days or so they would walk around it and every time it would be a different part but her favorite was by the lake, not because of the ducks and the majestic looking swans, nor was it because it was rather filled with people, locals and tourists combined which made the place much more lively than other parts of the park but because the cafe by the lake had some delicious pizza, and perfectly golden and crispy french fries, or chips as Robin always teases her with.

They took a seat by the water, ordered and ate their lunch over random subjects that included an argument about how things were pronounced and called differently.

"Why do you guys call cookies, biscuits?" she asked and for the hundredth time, Robin told her that it wasn't him who invented all of this therefore he has absolutely no clue why they're called differently in American and in British.

"Why do you call chips, french fries?" Robin shot her with a similar question and a teasing smirk.

"I..well..they came from France..and..a..they're fried!" Regina stuttered and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at the story she just made up, nor was he able to hold back the chuckle that bubbled its way up his belly.

This is why he loved her, all of her and especially her craziness.

Their next stop was dessert, something that attracted the tourists. A soft serve vanilla ice cream with a half piece of _flake_ chocolate stabbed into it.

It surprised Robin at first because Regina had always told him how much she despises vanilla ice cream, she wasn't all that crazy over plain chocolate ones either but now it seems like they're the only things on her mind. Well, at least that's better, he applaud _Ben and Jerry's_ creativity but so far, he hadn't come across a flavor that he actually likes, however Regina loved them all.

They sat on an old rustic wooden bench, Robin's arm looped around her waist, holding her close and she had hand resting upon her rounded belly, stroking every now and then and whenever the baby kicked. They were seated somewhere perfect, in Robin's opinion, not far from crowd but not too close to be disturbed by their loudness. The best of both worlds.

The birds chirped and the dogs played, they barked and ran after the squirrels that snuck around, stealing food from the tourists. They were one of Regina's favorite things about this park, the squirrels. He can never forget that one time she squatted down and a squirrel came running from the other side of the park, it stood up and held Regina's finger with both its hands and since then, until now Regina's convinced that _he_ came just to say hello and Robin didn't have the heart to tell her that the squirrel simply came because chances are, it thought she had food to offer.

She named him, Jack.

Robin smiled at that precious memory that lingered and repeated in his mind, he scooted closer to the woman by his side and rested his head against hers. He was lost in his thoughts when a faint cry caught his attention, apparently, Regina's too.

"Do you hear that?" she asked, her brows knitted in confusion, perhaps it was just her imagination, she thought until Robin nodded his head and confirmed that he too hears it.

"It sounds like a child's cry."

"It does," Regina agreed, she pushed herself out of his embrace and looked around, gaze scanning the park for the source of that sound and her eyes landed upon a small crowd of little children, gathering around another child, sitting on the ground. "Robin," her eyes grew wide, "look."

The Brit turned around and looked behind to where she pointed at. From afar, people would assume they're just a group of children playing around or excitedly discovering new things by the sound of their loud laughter, but from where he sat along with Regina, Robin could tell the only discovery they made was new ways to bully the child on the ground.

"Do you think we should do something about it?" Regina asked.

Robin nodded his head and stood up on his feet before helping her on hers as well, they swiftly walked over the children and their laughter grew, as did the cries of distress coming from the child on the ground. "Hey," Robin said, his voice raising to grab the attention of the bullies, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing!" a boy exclaimed and Robin eyed him suspiciously. He looked not older than 8 years old, his slightly long blonde hair tangled with knots and his toothy grin missing two upper front teeth.

"Robin" Regina tugged at his hand, forcing his attention to the little boy, his dark curls holding sticks and leaves, evidence of the bullying the older boys put him through.

"What's your name?" the Brit asked the giggling boy sternly but the boy gave him no answer, instead he continued giggling, looking back and forth at his friends as if he was proud of what he had accomplished. Robin repeated again, this time his tone filled with seriousness and anger that send shiver down the spines of the rest of the children as well, causing their laughter to die within a second, "What's your name?"

"Peter"

"Full. Name."

"Peter McFly."

The Brit smirked, "Adam McFly's son?"

"Y-yes" Peter stuttered, his green eyes widening in fear.

"I know your dad," Robin crouched down to the boy's level, "infact I know him very well, we went to high school together _and_ he used to live across the street from where I did."

Peter swallowed thickly but the lump that formed in his throat was still there, he looked at his friends, one by one and watched as they began taking a couple of steps back and away from Robin, as if they were ready to run away.

"Do you really think your dad would be happy to know what you've been doing?"

The shaggy haired boy shook his head so hard, Robin feared he might injure himself by doing so.

"That's what I thought, now skip along before I tell him what you just did, Peter."

The Brit had never seen anyone, let alone a child, run this fast before. He chuckled and looked over at Regina who seemed too stunned to form any word, she blinked her brown eyes, pointed at the direction the boys ran from then at Robin and he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You lied, didn't you?"

"Did the evil queen give Snow White the poisoned apple?"

"But how did you know his dad's name?"

"Because he _did_ live across the street and we did go to high school together, but we were anything but friends."

The pair chuckled briefly when soft sniffles caught their attention, Regina would've squatted down to comfort the little boy but with her swollen belly, it would be hard, almost impossible for her to stand back up with any dignity, so Robin did instead.

"What's your name, lad?"

The boy didn't answer, nor did he look up at them. His tiny hands covering his eyes as if he was blocking the whole world by doing so. It ached Regina's heart.

"Honey, what's your name?" Regina repeated her lover's question, she lowered a hand and rested upon the boy's head.

He still refused to answer.

"Where are you parents?"

"How old are you?"

"Want me to help look for your mommy and daddy?"

They asked but the only respond they got from him was his sobs.

"I say we call Emma, it's our only choice." the Brit suggested, and though Regina didn't wish for a child to be dragged to the police station, they truly didn't have any other choice. It was starting to get dark and they couldn't simply leave him here on his own.

"Let's wait another ten minutes, maybe his parents would come by." Regina whispered, "I'm sure." she quickly added.

Robin sat down by the boy's side while Regina stood with her hand on her bump, soothing the little kicks their baby gave. Their eyes scanned around the park, they watched as families and couples walked by them but so far, no one had approached the boy.

.

.

.

10 minutes had passed 5 minutes ago but neither of them had the heart to drag him down to the police station and so they waited for another 5 minutes to pass, and another and another when Regina's feet began to ache. She looked over at Robin and gave him the look of hopelessness and a sad smile.

"Hey, lad," Robin pushed himself off the ground with a groan, he definitely felt older than he is, he's yet to be 40 but his back ached in different occasions. "We have to take you to—"

"My friend" Regina interrupted, telling a little boy that young that he would be taken to the police station wasn't the brightest idea, it would only make him more frightened. "She's really good at finding people, maybe she can find your mommy and daddy!"

But nothing came from the boy however his cries died down and he hiccuped and sniffled every now and then. Perhaps it was the way Regina kept running her fingers through his hair that calmed him, Robin thought, she always had that motherly touch in her.

They waited patiently for a couple more minutes before Regina tucked her index finger underneath the boy's chin and lifted it up, forcing him to look at her and he did, he stared up at her with big and bright brown eyes, they were filled with tears and fear. "Let's go find your mommy and daddy, okay?" she gave him a smile and held out her hand for him, the boy looked at it as if it was something foreign but hesitantly took a hold of it.

* * *

Robin called Emma and let her know of the situation they've been put in before arriving so the blonde would at least have a slight idea about why all the sudden they showed up at her workplace.

"Honey—" Regina tugged at the boy's hand to get his attention, she rested her other hand over his head and brushed the curls back, "this is my friend, Emma." she explained as soft as possible. The boy looked over at the blonde and gave Regina's hand a squeeze, when Emma moved closer to him, he snuck behind the brunette's legs. "She's a friend, she wont hurt you." Regina assured but he wouldn't move.

Emma looked up at the pair, Regina gave her a broken smile and Robin shrugged both his shoulders, "I still think you should've called child services, Reggie."

"I know, Emma but I trust you more than child services," Regina said, and she had her reasons. She heard many stories of children being taken away from perfect homes over small issues only to end up miserable and unfortunately in some cases, in abusive households. She wouldn't want that for any child and if she can stop it, then why not? "and maybe he's just lost, children wander off in parks and get lost often." she reasoned and the blonde sighed, gesturing the couple over to her desk.

"If he doesn't tell us anything then there's only little we could do."

"What's that?" Robin asked.

"Well one, we could see if anyone filed in a missing person but that could take up to a day, usually the parents are told to wait—"

"That's stupid" Regina scoffed, earning herself a glare from the blonde, "I'm sorry, continue."

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed, she looked over at her cousin, "Second choice is that _we_ put up his picture and see if anyone recognize him."

"Can't we do both?" the couple asked at the same time.

"Let me see what I can do." Emma mumbled ad turned her attention away from them and the computer screen, she typed away all the details she needed to check if anyone had filled in a missing person's description that would fit the boy's.

 _5 minutes went by and there wasn't anything new._

 _15 minutes, still nothing._

 _30 minutes and the only thing changing was time._

"Are you hungry?" Regina asked the little boy who overtime scooted closer to her side, his hand still holding tightly onto hers. He looked up at her, his brown eyes wide with wonder as if she was speaking a language that belonged to aliens.

 _40 minutes passed by and eyes began to grow heavy._

 _50 minutes later it was too much to bear._

Regina used her free hand to fish inside her purse for the yarn ball and crochet hook attached to it, she intended on finishing multiple colored _granny squares_ and sew them together into a blanket before the baby's born but lately she'd been slacking. She carefully pulled her hand out of the sleeping's boy grip and he stirred but only curled further into her side instead. She didn't mind that, not at all.

Robin was lost in a world of his own, checking the emails on his phone for any reply from the companies he'd written to, for the jobs he applied to but sadly, there was nothing.

It was that one loud gasp that pried everyone's attention from what they were doing to the tiny person curled up by Regina's side. His brown orbs were wide, his lips formed a small _O_ as he flickered his eyes from the brunette to the light green granny square she had in hand.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked and as Regina was about to set down the square and hook on her lap to soothe him, the little boy took a hold of it and brushed his fingers over the soft wool.

He looked up at Regina with a wide smile painted over his face, it bared the deep dimples he had on both of his cheeks as he whispered, "Mama."

It earned him a few confused looks but the brunette figured it out, she ran her fingers through his tangled curls and smiled. This must be something his mother does too, crocheting. "Does your mama do this too?" she asked and he nodded his head rapidly, a beautiful little giggle excitedly leaving his mouth.

"Maybe he'll talk now." Robin grinned, it wasn't like he was eager to get this over with however he was eager to find the boy's parents.

The brunette let him touch and play with the crocheted square, she ran her fingers continuously through his hair and scraped her nails lightly along his scalp, almost in a soothing motion. "What's your name?" she cooed.

The boy looked up at her, he opened his mouth and—

"Roland!"

A woman's yell came from the afar.

The boy tensed, his eyes grew wide in fear as he scooted closer to Regina, almost in an attempt to hide behind her. Whoever this was, it most certainly wasn't his mother, she knew.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you to all who read till the end, one boy joined the story, the other will in the next chapter. Small spoiler (not really) but there is much more to Roland's story than just a lost boy. So I hoped you enjoyed this chapters, please excuse my mistakes I've had just a few hours of sleep when I decided to continue and updated but I'll read it all over again later and edit whatever mistake I might have. Please don't forget to review, it makes me happy! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I just wanna make one thing clear, Regina and Robin **will** sort out their problems and Robin is trying however Regina tends to run away, she tends to hide things that hurt her until one day she just busts! But I promise you, she will open up to love and they will talk about what happened because even though Regina's running out of that subject whenever Robin brings it up, she wont be able to run forever.

 **A/N2:** Alright, so I hesitated a lot about Henry and Roland's background because some people wont care at all whilst some are too sensitive, however I just wanna make things clear that I used this certain thing to, in a way, raise awareness to what's happening. If you have any question or would like to give me a piece of your mind, please do however there isn't going to be a need to be rude. To each their own opinion and for that I understand, now, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh! Also, thank you to everyone that already reviewed, you guys are **WONDERFUL!** and G, ain't nothing gonna happen to Ro! xD I promise.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine.

* * *

"Roland!" yelled out the same woman again.

She was slim, Regina noticed, bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair, medium length, she was 5ft something most certainly, 5'8 perhaps even 9. Her facial expressions, though she's angry at the moment she looked like type of a person so kind and caring but the boy, _Roland's_ reaction spoke differently.

If anything, she wasn't kind nor caring, it seems.

He clutched to Regina for dear life, his tiny hands gripping tightly to the material of her top as he still attempted to hide behind her.

"Excuse me—" Emma stood and walked around her desk, she stopped the blonde woman from getting any closer to the frightened child and for that Regina was thankful. "who are you?"

"I'm his foster mother!" the blue-eyed blonde gestured her hand toward the boy, disgust visible in both her expression and tone. One would say she was forced to put up with him, and perhaps so.

"Your name." Emma demanded.

The blonde exhaled out a huff and rolled her eyes, "Ingrid Winters."

"Alright, _Ingrid_ —" Emma scratched the nape of her neck before gesturing her hand toward the chair opposite to the couple and the little boy, "have a seat, please."

Ingrid did as she was told, she sat on the opposite side of the couple and crossed her legs, she folded her arms over her chest and held her gaze with Roland's for a moment until Emma cleared her throat, "What?"

"Mind explaining what exactly happened?"

"Well you see, I was fixing breakfast for the other children and when I went up to check on him, he was gone!" the platinum blonde glared at the boy who hid his face in Regina's side.

"Is that true, Roland?" Emma asked but no respond came from him, she opened her mouth to repeat her question when Regina stopped her, holding out her hand and giving her a single nod, in a way of telling her friend that she will take care of this.

The brunette scraped her french manicured nails along the boy's scalp gently, "Is it true what, Miss Ingrid said?" she cooed and waited, a few seconds passed and he gave them the confirmation by nodding his head and mumbling what seemed to be a _yes_.

"See!" Ingrid exclaimed and Regina glared.

"He wont run away without a reason." the brunette spat, tightening her arms around the boy, something that came to her so naturally.

"Oh please, he's been nothing but a troublemaker ever since he arrived!" Ingrid accused and just as Regina was about to speak again, Emma stopped her and interrupted.

"Regina's right, there _must_ be a reason behind why he did what he did."

"He's a troubled kid, he lost his parents and—"

"That's not good enough of a reason," Regina snapped before being silenced by her friend once again.

"Okay, listen, my shift has already ended 10 minutes ago," Emma explained, her green eyes glancing over her at wristwatch just to make sure she got the time correct, "So I'm letting Ingrid go with a warning—"

"Emma!" the brunette gaped at her friend, surprised by her words. How could she simply let this boy, obviously frightened by his foster mother return with her?

"As I said, I'm letting her off with a warning but if it happens again she will be charged."

"Well thank you," Ingrid said sarcastically, she stood up and held out her hand for Roland who refused, he whined and held on a little tighter to Regina, "come on!" she raised her voice.

The brunette felt him tense behind her, she ducked her head and whispered to him, "Everything will be okay," she promised him though she wasn't unsure of it.

Hesitantly, the boy loosened the grip he had on her and swung his little legs off the chair, he placed his feet down on the floor and dragged himself toward Ingrid. His heart hammering against his ribcage because he knew, he would have to return to the same house where he was being bullied for being different. Roland hung his head and nervously chewed on his lower lip, he lifted his head just enough to give Regina a glance before heaving out a breath. Must he return with the woman who didn't give a damn about him?

"Hurry now," Ingrid urged him, she reached for his tiny hand and firmly took a hold of it, ignoring the faint whimper of discomfort he let out and the way Regina almost jumped off her seat.

As the brunette opened her mouth to answer him, yelling came from right outside the station followed by

Just as Ingrid walked out, Robin was surprised to see Regina's friend, Graham walking in. He tilted his head slightly to the side, confused by finding him here, "Graham?" he asked out loud although he intended to keep his question silent.

Graham gave the Brit a grin and shoved a hand into his pocket, "Robin," he greeted and turned his attention to the pregnant woman, "Regina—" his brows knitted in confusion, "what are you two doing here?" As the brunette opened her mouth to answer him, an angry yell came from right outside of the station, forcing Regina on her feet and immediately outside to meet the source of it. To say she was surprised to see Ingrid pulling at a crying Roland's hand to drag him along, would be a lie but it didn't mean that it angered Regina any less, if anything, she was fuming.

"Hey!" Regina exclaimed angrily, her lover following behind along with Emma and Graham as she walked over closer to the foster mother, "What do you think you're doing?"

But Ingrid ignored the brunette's question, she gave Roland her full attention and tugged a little harder at his small hand to move him from the spot he practically glued himself to, "Move" she ordered but he struggled, his curls bouncing as he shook his head from side to side, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes and trickling down his cheeks.

"Ma'am—" Graham interfered from behind but the platinum blonde ignored him as well.

"I said move, you dirty migrant!" Ingrid raised her voice, irritated by the boy's disobeying. She tugged at his hand once more and when he still refused to move, her surroundings became a blur and she lifted her right hand up, ready to strike a slap across the his cheek.

Roland screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself for what was to come but a minute passed and it never did. Hesitantly, he blinked his eyes open to find Robin holding her by the wrist and just a moment after he witnessed Regina slapping the blonde across the face, leaving a visible red mark over her cheek. "He's a child!" the brunette spat angrily before turning around and scooping the little boy in her arms, despite being pregnant and forbidden from carrying anything heavy.

"Regina!" Emma exclaimed, surprised but what her friend had just done.

The platinum blonde was left in shock, she pulled her hand out of Robin's grip and laid it over her bruised cheek, flicking her blue eyes over at the brunette who raised her hand at her and the two policemen that stood, gaping at the scene that unfolded infront of them, "Are you not going to do anything!" she shouted.

Graham opened his mouth but quickly closed it again, Emma did the same thing and Robin walked over to Regina taking the boy from her. He had to pry him out of her protective grip.

"They didn't see anything." Regina said, confidently causing Ingrid to scoff and roll her eyes.

"They saw everything," she argued.

"I didn't see anything." Emma stuttered, she knew better than to argue with a pregnant woman, especially a pregnant Regina, she was young and not prepared to die, just yet.

"I didn't either" Graham agreed, watching Ingrid's facial expression change from a confident woman who believed the law would stand by her side to woman who didn't stand a chance infront of this brunette.

"Same here," Robin said, biting back the smirk that threatened to appear over his lips. He learned a while back that when Regina says something, it is what happens, her demands and wishes were their command. She wasn't nicknamed the evil queen for no reason.

"I..but…" Ingrid stammered.

"I'm sorry, what?" the brunette teased, placing a finger over the back of her ear she stepped closer as if she was trying to listen better.

Ingrid growled, "Fine!" she snapped, "you want this troublemaker, have him and his brother too!"

 _His brother_.

Regina looked over at Robin then at both of her friends, she watched the platinum blonde walk over to her car, pull open the backseat's door and say something, almost in a whisper which made it hard for any of them to hear. Not a moment after, a boy stepped out with a backpack in hand, his head was lowered so she couldn't quite tell how he looked like but he didn't seem to be older than 9, maybe even 10 years old. He was thinner than a boy his age should be, lost in his baggy clothes. "We…we're adopting them." Regina announced, turning heads toward her, mouths open in shock at what she offered.

"Reggie" Emma said, "you can just out of the blue decide to adopt a child— _two_ children!"

"Regina," Robin whispered, shocked, his tone filled with desperation. They have a child of their own they were expecting and here she was, thinking with her heart instead of her brains again, making decisions without thinking them through. She worked in a bakery, her income wasn't great and he was without a job, how could they feed two more mouths?

"No," the brunette shut him up almost instantly, giving him a glare that sent shivers down his spine, "I'm _not_ turning my back on these boys, I'm not gonna send them away through the system just so they end up with a person like that woman all over again!" she lifted her gaze from the boy that walked over to them, noticing him flinch as the platinum blonde entered her car and slammed the door shut behind her before driving away without reconsidering the boys' situation. "I'm not" Regina repeated to Robin, she glanced over at her friends with a look of helplessness resting over her face as she walked over to meet the older boy halfway.

The Brit ran a hand through his hair and blew out a sigh, "I can't argue with her, can I?" he asked his cousin who puckered her lips and shook her head. "She's too kind for this world."

He knew her all too well to know exactly what was going through her mind and the thoughts she was having, she had a big heart that was filled with kindness, but sometimes even kindness had to have limits.

They simply couldn't financially support two more people, they could barely support themselves and unborn child with the amount of money they have.

Robin stood back and watched the brunette interact with the older boy, talk to him and ruffle his hair, give him a smile to which he mirrored and he knew at that point why she does all this, because a smile like that was worth every pence. He rested a hand over the calm, little boy's back and subconsciously rubbed at it.

Regina truly is too good for this world.

"Robin—" the blonde muttered but he interrupted her with a smile of his own, he shook his head and hoisted up the boy a little higher, cradling his head as the boy wrapped his tiny arms loosely around Robin's neck.

"Tell us what we need to do," he said, "to adopt them."

Graham smiled widely at his new friend then made his way over to the brunette to give her the joyful news whilst Emma sighed, tucking both her hands into the pockets of her pants, she paused for a moment before gesturing Robin back into the station, "Come on inside then."

The Brit smiled, he looked over and saw the woman he loves staring back at him with a big smile of her own spread across her face and yes, that's exactly why he goes along with her crazy thoughts and suggestions, because aside from it feeling like it's the right thing to do, that smile on her face is worth it all.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked, plopping herself down by the seat beside her friend, she offered her a warm cup of the instant hot cocoa to which Regina happily accepted.

"I'm good," the brunette confessed, "I'm _better_ than good actually," a light chuckle bubbled its way up her belly as she threw a glance over at Robin and Graham, they stood and spoke to a person who worked for the Child Protective Services regarding the two boys.

"You sure?" Emma questioned, lifting a brow at her friend, she leaned back against the seat and folded her arms across her chest. "Because I wasn't talking about the boys, I was talking about you and Robin." the brunette sighed, "he told me what happened, your fight."

"It's nothing, it's been solved as you can see." the young baker waved a hand toward where Robin stood in Graham's office.

"No it hasn't, Reggie," the blonde argued, "I know what you're doing, I've known you since we were kids and you're pushing him away, you're building your walls up high again." she frowned and looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers. "He's not Daniel, you know."

Regina flinched at the mention of her ex's name, "Please don't bring him up." she sighed.

"He's not," Emma assured her, shifting in her seat to look straight at her friend, "Daniel— he…he was a jerk!" she exclaimed, "He hurt you badly but Robin, I mean, I can't promise you that he wont snap one day or that he might _not_ do something so stupid that would piss you off but I can promise you that he is _nothing_ like Daniel."

"Emma.."

"No, Regina, listen to me," the blonde reached out, taking her friend's hands in hers, "you deserve happiness and he cares about you, he…I think he actually loves you."

The young baker sighed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she heaved a breath, "I know."

"And I know that _you_ love him too so don't you dare deny it, I might not be an expert when it comes to love but I know it," Emma swallowed thickly, pausing for a moment to lick her dry lips, "I mean you look at him and your eyes sparkle, you look at him as if he created the wonders of this world, and that's love."

Regina lowered her head, she knew her friend was right but she couldn't bring herself to accept that, she was too scared of getting hurt.

"He looks at you the same way so please," the blonde tucked a finger underneath her friend's chin and forced it up to look her in the eyes, "promise me you will talk to him because it's eating him alive, he might've not told me that but I know, he's my cousin and I know him just like I know you."

"Okay" the brunette whispered, giving Emma a single nod, "I'll talk to him but when I'm ready."

"Just not after the baby's born!" Emma teased, earning an eye roll from her friend.

"Not after the baby's born," Regina parroted.

* * *

Days went by and they ran from one place to another trying to get everything done for _their_ boys.

Henry and Roland, they were told their names are, two brothers age 9 and 5 who lost both their parents in the unfortunate war taking place in the Middle East, Syria to be exact. Their mother — from what they gathered from the older boy — had passed away from a fever and lack of medications two years back, their father followed her months ago. He managed to get them into the United Kingdom, made sure they were safe and secured but sadly, his fever worsened and being the poor single father he was, he was forced to choose between making sure there's food in his boys bellies or a medicine for himself.

Of course, he chose his boys.

The story had Regina in tears for a few days, she was too sad to the point of refusing her favorite food, and that shocked Robin. Regina never refuses food, pregnant or not, it was the second thing she loved most after their child of course. It took him three hours of just sitting with her head in his lap, playing with her hair and reassuring her that at least now they have a better future with them, thanks to her and that their parents are in Heaven, looking down proudly at her for looking after their boys, to get her back to her normal self.

"Do you think they will like it?" the brunette mumbled, resting a hand over her swollen belly as she looked into the room they managed to quickly build with a little help from her parents. It wasn't huge and they had to share, Robin halved the bedroom and managed to fit two beds on either sides of it, made sure Henry had a section of himself and Roland too. Painted and decorated with the furniture and themes they were told the boys adored, astronomy for the older one and maps and globes for the little adventurous Roland.

"They'll love it," Robin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, pressing a loving kiss to her temple, "but are you entirely sure about this?" he whispered, placing his hand over hers, "because there's no backing out now."

"I'm sure," she assured him and their little speck of hope kicked at the same time as if it was assuring Robin too. It made them both smile.

Regina had her appointment coming up soon, and hopefully this time the baby would cooperate with them because they've been dying to know whether it was a boy or a girl, Robin had bet on a boy but Regina kept changing her mind every few days. One day she would more than certain that it's a girl and then the other days she would call it Robin Jr. and poke around her belly to make it move.

It confused the Brit but he would be lying if he said that wasn't entertaining to see.

* * *

There were no decisions made but the couple nestled in Robin's house, it was bigger and they both agreed on that. He had two extra bedrooms aside from the master one they shared, one they'd changed into the boys' bedroom and the other they locked away for the baby's nursery.

It was also closer to her bakery than her own apartment was, and just a few minutes walk from a school, not that they'd considered that before now.

As nervous as Robin was, he found himself excited for the boys' arrival and maybe, just maybe they — along with the baby growing inside Regina — will motivate him to finish the story he left untouched in attic for a long time.

Robin glanced over at the sleeping brunette curling into him before lowering his gaze to the dusty pile of papers in his hands, he brushed the pad of his thumb over the title and smiled.

 _This Is the Beginning_.

and it was.

It was the beginning of something new.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please don't forget to review, reading your thoughts about this makes me happy and motivates me to continue writing :)


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** I just wanna thank everyone so much for all the lovely review, my Roses you guys **ROCK**! I added a little extra fluff in this chapter because let's face it, with all the rumors spreading about you-know-what happening to you-know-who we need that. So I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing.

 **A/N2:** Next chapter the couple would have a deep talk regarding what happened and the fight (yay me, I know, right?) anyways, I'm sorry for the delay of the One-shots but my muse for it have just been lacking but I promise you, it _will_ come eventually (and before this story ends!)

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, i do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine too.

* * *

One would believe that children who'd been through what Henry and Roland had gone through would be sad all the time, depressed and lonely. Robin most certainly believed that but he was proven wrong when the boys arrived to his place, dropped off by the social worker and Graham along with the little items they owned.

Henry, the 9 year old greeted the couple with a polite smile and a hello and Roland, the little curly haired 5 year old walked straight into Regina's arms when she offered him a hug, it took them by surprise how easily he seemed to have trusted her in such a short time, Henry too.

They were nothing as Ingrid described them, the day passed by and they barely made any sound, let alone any trouble. The younger boy settled into the new bedroom made for them and the older one quietly looked after him, speaking a language neither of the couple understood but it put a smile over Roland's face, and so they didn't question his older brother's reassuring words, or so they believed they were.

Another thing Robin learned about Regina aside from the fact that she had a big heart, is that she simply cannot be in the kitchen, whether it was baking or cooking and not have music blasting from her bluetooth speaker. There wasn't a specific genre she would listen to, the brunette could go from Adele to Daddy Yankee in a split second and then all the sudden she would change to an orchestra, however today she had the song _Fly Me To The Moon_ by Frank Sinatra playing in the kitchen, she'd told him before just how much she adored Sinatra's music, she would put on a song of his before bed and sip her nightly glass of red wine or plug it in at work as she baked.

It soothed her, Regina said.

"What are you cooking?" Robin asked as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting one hand at the bottom of her belly and the other on the center of it.

"What every child loves, chicken nuggets," Regina answered him, turning around in his arms to face him, " _and_ , that was the only thing I could actually think of that children love." she gave him a bright smile and a quick peck to his lips.

"I'm sure they'd like it, if not—" Robin brushed a stray lock behind her ear and smiled, "then next time we'll try asking them first?" he suggested and she rolled her eyes, smiling sheepishly. He was right, she should've asked before she began cooking but what's done is done.

A chuck erupted out Robin, he pressed a quick, sweet kiss to Regina's lips before stepping back, "I'm going to set the table and call the boys, do you need help with anything else?" he offered and she shook her head, kindly declining.

The Brit hurried to get the table ready for dinner, and instead of the usual set of two mats he took out the four, he placed the plates over each one with a fork and knife on either side, except for Roland, he would have to cut the chicken nuggets for him. The boy was too young to toy with a knife and although he knew Henry was too, he still trusted the 9 year old with it more but only around him or Regina.

He grabbed himself a cold bottle of beer and poured juice for Regina, he knew it was unhealthy but went along with it and grabbed two cans of soda for the boys, he wouldn't make it a habit for them to get it whenever they wished but having one can every now and then couldn't hurt, right?

Robin called after the boys once the food was plated and placed on the table, he waited for a few minutes but they didn't come and it worried the couple that they might've ran away, "I'll check on them," he offered and walked down the narrow hallway and to their bedroom only to find them fast asleep, sharing Henry's bigger bed. The older boy had a protective arm wrapped around his younger brother, it was a sight he would never forget.

As much as the Brit hated disturbing their peaceful sleep, he knew they needed to eat, they've barely had anything to eat aside from nibbling on a piece or two of some fruit and snacks Regina bribed them with. "Henry" he whispered as low as possible, placing a gentle hand over the older boy's arm to wake him but not startle him, "Dinner's ready."

Henry stirred, bringing up a fist to his face he rubbed his eyelid sleepily.

"Wake up your brother and come to the kitchen, okay?"

The green eyed 9 year old nodded his head and offered the Brit a polite smile, mumbling the word _okay_.

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"They're okay," Robin announced as he walked back into the kitchen, smiling at Regina who had already taken a seat at the table, "they were just sleeping."

The brunette puffed out a sigh of relief and nodded her head, she returned the smile and leaned back against the chair, placing a hand over the spot the baby kicked.

The boys joined the couple for dinner minutes later, Henry complimented Regina's cooking when he inhaled the aroma and Roland nodded in agreement to what his brother said.

They were well mannered, both Regina and Robin noticed, nothing of what Ingrid said about them, they were unlike other children their age, they sat quietly at the table and ate what was offered to them, not Henry nor Roland complained even though Regina noticed that the chicken was a little bit dry and needed more salt and french fries were a little burnt, they ate it as if it was the best thing that they've ever had, and given by how their past was, it probably is.

After dinner was eaten and dishes were rinsed, the couple helped the boys get ready for bed before tucking them in securely under the thick blankets. They wished them goodnight, flicked the lights off and left the room to their own, it was getting late and they both needed as much sleep as they possibly could get.

* * *

It was around midnight when they heard a loud scream coming from the boys' bedroom, it startled them awake and Robin immediately jumped out of bed and ran, fearing the worst, that perhaps somehow an intruder made its way into his house. It wasn't something that uncommon in London, after all it wasn't long ago that they heard about the 7 armed men who robbed a young couple's apartment.

"Roland!" the Brit exclaimed, he turned the lights on and rushed toward the 5 year old's bed. Henry was already there sitting by his brother's side, soothing him by brushing his fingers through his curls, "What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"Just a nightmare," the 9 year old mumbled, his voice heavy with sleep. He pulled down the right sleeve of his pajamas shirt and wiped away his brother's tears, "he has them often."

Robin frowned and Regina quietly walked over to them, she sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hand over the little one's head, she was tired and she had to wake up again in less than 6 hours to check on her bakery then head over to her appointment but comforting the boy for at least a few minutes couldn't hurt, right? "Do you wanna talk about your bad dream, sweetheart?" she cooed and Roland shook his head rapidly from side to side, the brunette nodded and brushed back his hair behind his ear.

All three of them sat around Roland until his cries changed into hiccups and occasional whimpers, and although he was sleepy he feared closing eyes and falling back to sleep.

"I'm going to back to bed, I can't keep my eyes open." Regina whispered into Robin's ear and excused herself, she wished the boys another goodnight and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Roland's head before leaving a nervous Robin on his own.

This was all new to him, just as it was to the young baker but she had more experience with these stuff, she babysat whilst growing up but he hadn't. Robin exhaled a heavy sigh and flicked his gaze from the older boy to the younger one who curled into his brother's side, holding tightly onto the beaten up teddy bear, "Do you wanna try and go back to sleep?" Roland shook his head again and the Brit sighed.

He needed to find a way to lull the dimpled boy back to sleep or else none of them would have the strength to leave their beds tomorrow morning, and he had one hell of a day ahead of him. The Brit had to go to the appointment with Regina because aside from checking on the baby and how her pregnancy is progressing, Rosalyn told them there's a chance they could tell the gender if the baby cooperates, and then afterwards he had to take the boys and register them into a school. But if Roland doesn't fall back to sleep, there is no way would they be able to wake up before 9AM.

"Does your brother understand English very well or just a tiny bit?" Robin turned his attention to the older boy who'd been fighting his sleep just to comfort his brother.

"He understands," Henry whispered, he brought up his right hand to his face and sleepily rubbed his eyelid, "Mama was American," he paused and looked up at the Brit who had confusion written all over his face, so he continued knowing well the man is curious to know more, "Nana and Papa, Mama's parents are American—" the boy explained, "but we only saw Nana twice because Papa was mad at Mama for marrying my dad, he is… _was_ a Muslim and they were Christians." Robin noticed how the boy seemed to be confused himself, after all he was 9 years old, how would he know the reasons behind his grandfather's racial actions?

Henry continued telling Robin their story, hearing it from him was different than hearing it from the social worker who explained to him and Regina what those two boys had gone through. It was more heartbreaking.

He told him about the war and how they were forced to live, how they escaped their home and left behind everything they owned to go somewhere safer. He told him how sometimes they would go days without eating food but somedays, if they were lucky they would have chicken feet that their mother would cook over open fire so they could nibble on or sometimes their father would return with stale bread, it wasn't much but they were thankful for it, some didn't have anything at all. They lived off water their father collected in buckets when it rained, they played with rocks and flat balls, Robin also learned and it brought tears to his eyes, they had so little and yet they didn't complain whilst children here were spoiled rotten, they had all sorts of toys but demanded more.

The Brit sniffled and offered the boys a bright smile, "Well, alright, how about I tell you two a story, how does that sound?"

Henry smiled one of the biggest smiles Robin had witnessed yet and Roland beamed despite the trails of the dried tears down his rounded cheeks. He waited for them both to be tucked and comfortable under the blankets as he flicked on the nightlight by their bed before turning off the main one on the ceiling. Robin sat back down on the bed and smiled, he wasn't very familiar with children stories and fairytales and instead of wasting time to make up one, he began telling them the story he'd written.

A tale of a royal family who left their kingdom during war's time. Just like them.

"Once upon a time in a whole different realm than ours, lived a happy family of royals. A King, a Queen and their two daughters, a 4 year old princess with wild, curly red hair and a baby born with hair as black as the night, whose happiness was threatened by an _evil witch_!" Roland gasped and Robin couldn't help himself, he laughed, "The evil witch was told by a very powerful sorcerer that this baby would be her undoing— do you know what that means?"

Both boys shook their heads and he chuckled, "It means that the baby is going to destroy her and stop her from being so evil when she grows up." once Robin was sure the boys understood, he continued, "Frightened of the prophecy, the evil witch promised the King and the Queen to put their daughter into a deep sleep, one she cannot be awaken from so when she becomes 28 years old, she can't defeat her and so the King searched the whole realm for a magical bean to escape to a place where the evil witch couldn't harm his family. They came to _our_ world."

The boys' eyes widened and Robin nodded his head to confirm his own words, "The baby grew big and beautiful, she didn't know about her past, she lived a simple life as an author who wrote stories in our world until one day a little boy visited her, he came to bring her home— do you know why?"

"Why?" Henry asked, his voice barely above a whisper and his gaze fixed with Robin's.

"Because, _my boy_ , her destiny was to set her kingdom free from the evil witch," Robin explained, playfully tapping the tip of Henry's nose and making him smile, "because not only was she the princess but she was also the savior, the bringer of all happy endings." The Brit ended his story with that when he noticed the boy's smile was replaced with a big yawn and his eyes seemed to be growing heavier by the second, Roland was already fast asleep, soundly curled by his brother's side with his stuffed toy held tightly in his arms, "Now, you go to sleep okay?"

Henry nodded his head, "Okay."

"Goodnight, Henry."

"Goodnight, Robin," the Brit pulled the blankets securely over the boys and stood up, he made his way toward the door and was ready to leave when Henry spoke again, stopping him in his tracks, "Robin?"

Robin hummed and turned around, "Yes?"

"You—you don't hate us like Papa does, do you?" Henry asked, hesitant by his own question, "Because of who our dad was and who we are?"

"Never" Robin answered him immediately, "I will _never_ hate you or your brother for anything, do you hear me?"

The older boy nodded his head and gave the man a bright smile, "Okay."

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Little did either of them know that the young baker was standing right outside of the bedroom, listening to the story too. She'd come to let her lover know about the change of plans regarding tomorrow's appointment when she heard him speaking, telling his story to the boys and it warmed her heart. It made her happy. "He's the best daddy, isn't he?" she cooed at the unborn wiggling inside of her and smiled.

Yes, he most certainly is the best father.

* * *

As predicted, getting up in the morning was hard but because Regina's appointment was rescheduled to next week, they managed to give themselves another hour of sleep before eventually dragging themselves out of bed to face the world. The brunette was the first to be ready, followed by Henry and then Roland and Robin, the two seemed very much alike with the annoyed expression over their faces from having to wake up so early. It made the young baker and the green-eyed boy laugh.

Breakfast was eaten in Regina's bakery instead, _it was where all the goodies were_ , Robin had told them, earning himself an eye roll from the brunette.

The boys settled for warm cheese crescent rolls and hot cocoa while Robin shamelessly devoured two ham and cheese sandwiches and sipped his coffee, Regina — well, the baby as she claimed, was too picky but at the end she found herself leaning back against one of the chairs and nibbling on a blueberry muffin.

Their next stop was the school, they've already spoken to the principal the day before and explained everything to her, from how the boys were adopted to the reason behind it and a little bit of their background, thankfully, Mrs. Bleu was very understanding of their situation, she assured the couple that their boys wouldn't be treated any differently from the other children simply because of who they were and that pleased them. The last thing they wanted for _their sons_ was to get bullied.

* * *

The first day passed by without _that_ much of trouble, Henry was very eager and excited to go and make some friends despite how nervous he was but Roland threw a tantrum and refused to let go of Robin, he clung to him until the his teacher, Miss Mulan gave in and asked Robin to stay in class until at least the boy calms down.

It took him a whole hour to loosen up and interact with the children and that was when Robin snuck out.

That was how things were everyday for the whole week and although it was a little bit tiring to just sit around for an hour listening to kindergarten kids gleefully sing along to nursery songs, Robin still did it anyways until Regina came along one day so they could head to her appointment immediately after dropping the boys that Roland became extra clingy. Instead of just holding on to Robin's hand, the boy clung to him like a tiny koala and bawled his eyes out.

Robin bribed him with candies and ice cream, and Regina promised to let him help her with the bakery but he wasn't buying it. None of that interested him and stopped his cries but as soon as they agreed to let him skip school today and walked back into the car, he stopped and gave them the biggest smile they'd seen from him, causing them both to laugh. "Little brat," Regina chuckled and rolled her eyes, reaching behind she ruffled his hair playfully, drawing the most innocent and beautiful laugh from the little boy.

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"Sorry we're late," the brunette apologized and gave Rosalyn, their doctor, a sheepish smile, "we had a little issue."

"That's okay—" the blonde turned around her seat and paused when she saw the couple but not alone, "Oh" she blinked her eyes a couple of times as if her vision would change by doing so, "who's this little guy?"

"This is Roland," Robin introduced the doctor to the shy boy who greeted her by a little smile before sinking further into his adoptive father's lap while Regina made herself comfortable on the bed, "he's our son."

"He's your what?" the blonde shifted her gaze from the brunette and then back at the Brit, confused. Neither of them had mentioned having a child of their own before, infact, they both stated that the baby was their first.

"Son," Regina repeated proudly, turning her head to the side she gave both Robin and Roland a smile which they mirrored, "long story short, we adopted him and his older brother not too long ago." she watched her doctor's facial expression change and a smile broke over her lips.

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Roland." Rosalyn ransacked through the mess in her drawer and pulled out a cherry flavored lollipop before handing it over to the shy boy, "are you guys ready to meet your baby and _finally_ give it a name?" she chuckled and the couple nodded their head, a smile appearing over their face.

Rosalyn lifted and rolled up Regina's shirt over her belly and all three adults laughed when they heard a gasp coming from Roland, his brown eyes widened and fixed over the swell and the spot the baby kicked. To say that this scene that unfolded infront of them was adorable would be an understatement; it made Regina wish she'd recorded it as a memory.

The cold gel was spread over the brunette's belly and she shuddered, making the boy believe she was in pain but to reassure him that it was just cold, Rosalyn scooped up some and wiped it over the back of his hand, she watched his worry turn into surprise, making them all laugh along with him. Soon there was a whooshing sound echoing throughout the four walls of the room, and though it wasn't the first time they heard it, it still brought tears to the Brit's eyes and the younger baker reached up to wipe them away with the pad of her thumb.

"Baby's healthy and saying hello," Rosalyn told them, her own smile curled over her pink lips as she moved the device around over the bump, "and—" she paused, looking at the parents, "you guys ready?" Although Roland wasn't sure what they meant by that, he nodded his head too when he saw Robin and Regina do that, "Guess who's going to be having a baby sister!"

Robin gaped, swiftly turning his attention from his lover to the doctor, he was in disbelief. A girl, he was having a daughter! _They_ were having a daughter and frankly, he couldn't be any happier.

A little princess to spoil, a daddy's little girl and the apple of his eye, and oh boy did he love her so much already.

Little Muna, their unreachable wish that came true.

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* * *

 **A/N:** I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to review because hearing from you makes me truly happy and motivates me to continue! Also, if any of you is interested, you can follow my twitter account where I fangirl over Lana, OutawQueen and occasionally posts spoilers! (Nona_AM)


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** I'm sorry it took me long to update but things weren't all that great but here's another chapter and I hope y'all enjoy it. I'm sad that this story is coming to an end, I really enjoyed writing it and reading all of your reviews, there's only one chapter left and epilogue **HOWEVER** there will be a sequel and there isn't a sneak peek that I could post for you guys but I can tell you what it will be about, if you're interested I'll be listing it on the very end of this chapter but if you wanna skip the spoiler, then don't read it :) Thank you all again, you guys are the best.

 **A/N2:** To the **Guest** that hoped the baby's name wont be Muna, I'm sorry to disappoint but that _will_ be her name, I've thought this through but I settled on this name for personal reasons, thank you for your opinion though :)

Also, thank you to everyone else who reviewed, and to my gorgeous sista **GinaScrive** because truly, I wouldn't have been able to continue this story if it wasn't for her, she's the best!

And **hevelinchris** , I've explained a little how things are going with their life in this chapter (to ease a bit of your worries lol) but thank you for suggestion and your review was actually very helpful, so thank you again :)

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, i do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine too.

* * *

The instant they learned the baby's gender, it was Robin who dragged Regina shopping and little Roland tagged along happily yet still clueless of the reason behind the sudden overjoy that filled the couple but he didn't question it. They shopped in three different stores without going over the budget they'd set from the money both of them had been saving over the years, and now since they had two more children in their lives, they were forced to use more of it and divide the savings between all three, not equally of course but almost. It wasn't the fact that the baby was biologically theirs and the boys weren't, no, Regina and Robin were never the type that would favor one child over another no matter what the situation might be, it was just the fact that the baby needed more than the boys, from diapers to bottles, cribs and changing tables, carseats and strollers, and all these weren't cheap.

It would be a struggle to fulfill all the children's needs, no doubt in that but they would work hard, and Robin promised to find a job now that they had more responsibilities. It didn't matter to him if he likes the job or not as long as it paid well, they needed the money, but he was also doing what he loved on the side and whenever he had time for himself, he was writing his very first novel and maybe, just maybe this time he would find the courage to share his stories with the rest of the world instead of hiding all his creations to himself.

By the time the couple were done shopping it was almost home time and Henry would be out of school. Instead of letting him return back home by using the bus, the couple decided to pick him up, "I was always happy when my mom used to do this." Robin admitted to the brunette who turned her head to face him, a light laugh bubbling out of her at the thought of a little Robin excitedly running to his mother by the end of the school day. It warmed her heart and made her look forward to the future where their daughter would do the same, maybe life would surprise her and even Roland would get just as excited when she'd pick him up. She could only hope.

The bell rang and shortly after the front of the school's property was crowded with children of all ages, there was no way they could spot Henry in the middle of this mess, "Can you see him?" Regina asked and Robin shook his head, frustrated when all the sudden they heard their tiniest member yell out his brother's name.

"Henry!" Roland screamed, jumping up and down and giggling all at the same time which drew out a contagious laugh out of Regina and forced one out of Robin too, the Brit shook his head head and ruffled the boy's curls.

"We, two grownups failed to find a 9 year old in the middle of a crowd yet this little guy finds him without any trouble whatsoever!" Regina scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Robin chuckled, he wrapped his arms around Roland and scooped him up over his shoulders, making him squeal in delight, "He's his brother, I think he'll always find him no matter where he is."

Just as the Brit suspected, Henry came to them the instant he found them with a big smile resting over his face, it reminded him so much of his own. The boy hoisted up the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and shifted his gaze to all three of them when Roland broke the silence settling over, squealing words speaking in his native language and though the couple couldn't understand, they knew he was telling his brother about the baby by pointing at Regina's belly, it made them laugh.

"What did the champ say?" Robin asked, playfully bouncing the 5 year old over his shoulders and melting Regina's heart in return.

"He told me we're having a baby sister and that he got to see her," Henry explained, his own laughter couldn't be contained.

Whatever worries Robin and Regina had about the boys disappeared the instant they stepped a foot into the house, and this moment right here only confirmed just how not so hard things proved to be.

—

It was pizza for dinner tonight, the boys, all of them with Robin included voted on that over Regina's homemade cooking, they had nothing against it, Henry promised her, it was just that they craved pizza and because she was a woman who is all too familiar with how cravings are, she let them off today with a playful warning, "Tomorrow all of you are helping me cook." she pulled a firm expression to show them her seriousness but failed the instant Roland flashed her his toothy grin, showing off his deep dimples. How could anyone be serious around that? She certainly couldn't.

Netflix was on and _Finding Nemo_ was playing, the boys were bundled up underneath a thick quilt to keep them warm in the chilly weather despite the heaters working, they were both quiet and full after their dinner, giving the movie all their attention. That was when Robin lightly nudged the young baker by his elbow, "I need to talk to you about something."

Regina pried her eyes off the screen and looked over at him, "What about?" she whispered.

"Well—" he paused and eyed the boys, though they seemed to be fully focused on the movie, he didn't want to discuss what he had in mind infront of them, "in the bedroom perhaps?"

The brunette nodded her head, she watched him get up and walk down the hall to the bedroom they shared then gazed over at Henry, "Sweetheart," she whispered, keeping her voice as low as possible when she saw Roland's eyes growing heavy with sleep, "I'll be back in a few minutes okay?" the 9 year old gave her smile and nodded.

With one hand resting over her belly, she pushed herself up with the other, it was getting harder for her to walk around without earning herself swollen feet by the end of the day or a backache, the simplest of tasks were a struggle but she knew it'll all be worth it once the baby's here.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Regina asked, closing the door behind her once she entered the room.

"Our fight," Robin told her, he saw the way she tensed and rolled her eyes, and just as she was about to turn and walk out again, he stood and rushed over to her, taking both her hands in his own, "No, running away isn't the answer."

"Robin," she whined in a childish manner that brought a smile to his face in spite of their current situation.

"Listen to me, Regina, we're going to have a daughter in just a little over four months, is this the example you want to set for her? Is this how you want her to grow up?" the Brit argued and he had a point, they had to work out their problems in a more mature way and burying them inside wasn't the answer nor was running from it but she couldn't bring herself to admit it out loud, she grew up hiding her true self and feelings behind a great wall she build around her heart. She turned her head to the side and looked away but he tucked his thumb under her chin and pushed it up, forcing her to look at him, "Sit with me," he pecked her softly on the lips, "let's talk."

The brunette exhaled a sigh in defeat, her shoulders sagged and she followed him to their bed, his large hands still holding hers in a gesture of comfort.

They sat down by each other's side, and while he faced her she had her gazed fixed over the fake engagement ring and wedding band on her finger. He bought them to convince her parents they were actually married; it worked. "I'm sorry," Robin apologized again for snapping at her that day, when all she wanted was to help him find a job. He removed his hand from her hold and laid it on top of her hand instead, giving it a light squeeze, "I shouldn't have snapped at you and I'm truly sorry for it, I don't know what came over me, I was stressed and I…I suppose depressed too but that was no excuse to treat you the way I did," the brunette's lower lip trembled, those damn hormones making her all emotional again, "and I know it's not alright so don't tell me it is, Regina." he lifted her right hand and pressed a feather-light kiss over her knuckle, "I want your forgiveness, and if it means working hard for it for the upcoming months then I'll do it."

Regina cursed under her breath when she felt the first tear roll down her cheek, she sniffled and attempted to hide her embarrassment of crying over this by looking away but Robin cupped her face and turned her to face him, offering her a smile that held reassurance and a promise that everything will be alright between them. "I'm sorry," she let out a wet chuckle, "hormones."

"I know," he smiled, wiping the other tear that leaked out of the corner of her eye with the pad of his thumb.

There was a moment of silence between them but oddly, it wasn't the uncomfortable kind of it. They both needed this one to clear their minds, to prepare themselves if there was more to speak of.

Regina was the first to break the silence that surrounded them by clearing her throat, she laced her fingers with his and took a leap of faith. Opening up to someone couldn't possibly be hard, could it? "A few years ago, I met someone—" she began, "his name was Daniel, we were young and I was naive, he was my first boyfriend," she scoffed at herself, it was embarrassing how old she was when she actually started dating. "He was sweet, too sweet infact that I was blinded by his words, I didn't see his flaws until it was too late." the brunette took a shaky breath and he squeezed her hand, she continued without getting into details. "Long story short, he wasn't faithful and it hurt me badly, I already had little confidence in myself, I had little trust and I gave to him, it was the worst mistake I've ever done."

"So you built your walls higher," Robin whispered and she nodded her head, sniffling.

"And when you snapped that day, it reminded me of him."

"Was he abusive?" he asked immediately, his blood boiling at the thought of it but she shook her head and relief washed over him.

"He would just go into these fits often and because you're so sweet and then _that_ happened, it just…it brought back memories." she explained.

Robin frowned, he didn't know the amount of pain he inflected on her and now guilt was eating him up, "I'm so sorry," he pressed his lips firmly against her forehead, "I didn't mean it, I promise you I'm nothing like him."

"I know," she whispered.

"Regina," the Brit said and she looked up at him, her warm brown eyes gazing into his soft blue ones, and then he said the words that knocked the air out of her lungs. "I love you"

Although she knew he did and expected to hear that from him, it still surprised her, it brought tears to her eyes and she didn't know if they were happy tears or not, but they couldn't possibly be anything else, "Robin—"

"You don't have to say it back," he interrupted her, "I know it's hard for you, Emma might've not told about this Daniel but she did tell me that you've gotten to the point that you don't believe in such called _love_ but I want to prove to you that it exist," his smile so hopeful and bright, it made her heart skip a beat, "Because I don't just want to be the father of this little girl," he placed his hand over her belly, "I want you too, I want all of this Regina, I want a life with you, with our daughter and our _sons_."

"I want it too," she whispered, her voice merely above a whisper as if she was too ashamed of admitting it out loud.

"Then don't push me away, alright?" the brunette nodded her head.

* * *

It felt like the burden of the world was lifted off her shoulders ever since the conversation she had with Robin, things were lighter between them, they were happier.

Their days went by with ease, the pregnancy progressed without any trouble so far as she entered her 7th month, or as Robin loved to tease her, 30th week. The boys felt more at home despite the occasional cries and midnight frights that Roland had, caused by his nightmares. It was hard, the couple were very well aware that they wont disappear so easily, the boy spent most of his life caught in the middle of a war, spent sleepless nights hearing the sounds of explosions and gunshots instead of the lullabies his mother should be singing to him.

Regina would often wake up in the middle of the night to the feeling of a small figure wiggling between her and Robin, the first time surprised her, as did the second but soon it became something usual. She would wrap her arms around Roland and keep him close. Robin warned her not to allow the little boy to share their bed, not only because it'll become a habit that would be hard to get rid off but because she was pregnant and children around Roland's age kick and move around a lot during their sleep.

But he slept much better, he would go on weeks without waking up in tears, only little whimpers that Regina easily soothed with a soft hush and a kiss to the top of his head. It was enough to let him know she's here.

Communicating with Roland was still a struggle, it had to be through Henry. He still refused to speak English and it didn't help at school either, he understood his teachers and friends but none of them understood him aside from one classmate. She too was an Arab born-and-raised in London but unlike Roland, she had no trouble fitting in.

Robin on the other hand found a job, it wasn't something that he was very familiar with but with the money being tight, he didn't exactly have a choice so being a middle school English teacher would do for now. His novel was going wonderfully too, he was proud of every chapter he'd written so far, his imaginations flowed and he wrote whenever he managed, whether it was late at night after everyone slept or during his lunch breaks. It was exhausting but he knew it'll pay off at the end.

"How was work today?" Robin asked, wrapping his arms around the young baker's waist from behind, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and took in that familiar floral scent mixed in with a hint of apples. It filled his nostrils despite the aroma of the food she was preparing.

"Busy," she answered, a grin spread widely across her face, "how was yours?"

"Tiring," his lower lip stuck out in a pout, "but it's all better now," he flirted, earning himself a shy smile from the brunette, "where are the boys?"

"In their room," she told him, "they kicked me out claiming they had a surprise and I'm not allowed to see it." the Brit chuckled and she jabbed him in the guts with her elbow.

Robin groaned and chuckled at the same time,"Let me go and see if _I'm_ allowed," he kissed her cheek firmly before bending down to press another kiss over her belly too, whispering a quiet greeting to their unborn daughter then leaving his lover undisturbed in the kitchen.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

"Do you think she'll like it?" Henry asked his brother who rapidly nodded his head, grinning from ear to ear and exposing his deep dimples, "I hope so," he whispered before a knock on the door caught him off guard, "Yes?" Henry called out.

"Am I allowed to come in?" Robin asked from the other side of the door, a grin breaking over his face.

"Is Regina with you?"

"Nope."

"Then you're safe!" Henry exclaimed and the Brit couldn't hold back his laugh any longer. He opened the door and walked in to find the two of them laying down on the floor on their stomach, papers scattered around the room as well as crayons, glue sticks and other random items.

"What are you two up to?" Robin arched a brow as he lowered himself down beside them, gazing over at their artwork.

"We're making something for Regina and the baby," Henry explained, his answer short and simple although there was more to it, an actual reason to why they were spending their time crafting rather than playing outside like boys their age should. Both of them wanted to buy a gift for the baby when she arrives, a stuffed toy or a small doll but the little money they had from their allowance and left over pennies after each grocery shopping wasn't enough to buy a decent one and so they turned to arts and crafts, DIY projects Henry's teacher suggested and they eventually settled for a stuffed toy made out of a sock, and luckily for them they had just enough money to buy new pair.

Robin nodded, "What are you making?" he asked the older boy as he glanced over at the drawing the younger one was thoroughly focused on, coloring it in bright colors. It was different than the other drawings he'd seen, it didn't have weapons, it didn't have people with missing body parts or blood, it didn't have anything of what haunted his dreams. It had a happy family standing infront of a house and a couple gazing down at them from a cloud, halos drawn over their heads and wings spread widely from behind them.

He drew his family, but him and Regina were included too, he drew himself and his brother standing in-between the two grownups with big smiles over their faces. Although the drawing was messy — which was much expected from a 5 year old — it was beautiful.

"A stuffed toy from a sock," Henry looked over at his adoptive father, his lower lip slightly sticking out in a pout as he showed him the white and pink, chunky sock, "I don't know how to do it though, can you help us?" he asked politely and the younger one nodded his head rapidly, a silent way of saying _please_.

The Brit looked over back at Henry, he wasn't the most creative person, yes, his imagination was unlimited but when it came to actually bringing his work to life, it was always a struggle but he smiled and nodded, "I thought you'd never ask!"

* * *

He would check on the boys, he told her but it's been a little over half an hour since he walked into their room and never came out. It worried Regina because it was too quiet, and it shouldn't be this quiet when there are children around but she shook her head and shrugged off her worries, if anything was wrong, she would know.

She stirred the large jug of homemade strawberry lemonade and returned it back into the fridge to chill until it was time to eat, she wiped clean the countertop and tossed the dirty cookware in the sink to wash later on before drying her hands. As she was about to head down the hall to call _all_ her boys for dinner she heard the door click open and their laughter echoing, she shook her head and smiled; it most certainly was one of her favorite sounds. "Dinner's ready," she announced.

"We're coming!" Robin grinned, tossing the younger boy over his shoulder before nudging the older one out of the room and down the hall, they were laughing all too hard Regina feared they would end up crying later on.

"What's so funny?" she asked when Henry walked in, followed by the Brit and the giggling 5 year old on his shoulder.

"Nothing," Henry lied, giving her a cheshire cat smile, she looked over at Robin in hope he would tell her what happened but he shrugged his shoulders and repeated the same answer.

"That's nice, so I'm being left out now?"

All of the boys nodded their heads, she growled out of frustration and ignored them as they laughed once again.

She filled their glasses with the juice and dished their plates with baked chicken, creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables on the side, It was Roland's request for dinner tonight. Regina came up with the idea of allowing each one of them to choose what they preferred for dinner each night, it started with Robin and then herself, then it went on with Henry and Roland and then repeated again. It was what she thought was fair and so far, no one complained.

They ate over small talks and laughter, just as a family should while eating together. Roland excitedly told them everything that happened at his pre-school and Henry translated it all, Henry also told them everything he learned and about the friends he made, one of them which they learned was the closest to him than the others, Grace. He spoke about her none stop.

Robin also told them about his days at work and how teaching children rather than young adults was more fun, they were much more well-behaved than he thought they'd be at first. Regina enlightened them with how well the bakery was going, she told them all about the new recipes she's going to _experiment_ on them, again, which had the boys worried. The last time she tried a new brownies recipe, it was a fail, it smelled heavenly but tasted like unsweetened, burnt chocolate. Their honest opinions had her crying for two hours straight while shoving spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream into her mouth and Robin being…well, Robin, he couldn't pass on that and had the whole thing recorded on his phone without her knowledge. It was priceless.

Once dinner was eaten and the dishes were rinsed and put away by Robin and Henry, Roland snuck his way into the bedroom he shared with his brother and collected the gifts they made for Regina, he walked out struggling with a handful of different things, multiple cards, drawings and two stuffed sock _rabbits_ that Robin helped them with. They looked funny, they had a long figure and a round ball sewed behind as the tail, two tiny feet and arms, if it wasn't for the long ears no one would be able to tell that they were rabbits, more like aliens instead.

Henry's rabbit was pink and white with two black beads as eyes, Roland's was a green and gray one that also had two black beads as eyes, a chunky green wool around its neck as a scarf and a button sewed just above the center of its body.

"R—R'gina?"

The brunette furrowed her brows in confusion, it sounded like Roland but he never calls her by her name, he often referred to her as the _lady_ and he never spoke directly to her either. She turned around, surprised to see that it was _indeed_ Roland and he was grinning up at her with the biggest grin he could offer.

"L…look at what we made," he stammered and Regina didn't know how to react, Robin either. Both the adults gawked at him, surprised by the fact that he'd actually spoken to them and in a language they could understand, "I made this," Roland dropped everything on the middle of the floor and picked up his rabbit, he rushed to her and handed it over, "Do you like it? We made it for the baby."

Regina didn't speak, she felt like she'd lost her voice to none other than Ursula from the _Little Mermaid_ and Roland frowned, lowering his head.

"You—you don't like it?"

"What—oh I love it, Roland!" Regina assured him when she found her voice, she kept the rabbit close and pulled him closer into a tight hug, she pecked the side of his head and smiled, tears of joy swimming in her eyes.

"It was Henry's idea," the little boy mumbled against her chest and she looked over at his brother who smiled in return, she motioned him closer and though he hesitated, he walked over to her. Regina reached behind and placed the rabbit on the dinning table before wrapping her other arm around Henry too, keeping both _her_ boys in her embrace.

"I love it," she whispered, pressing her lips firmly against Henry's temple, "Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're welcome."

" _This_ was their surprise by the way," Robin pointed at the pile of papers resting on the floor before gesturing his finger toward Roland, "him speaking wasn't a part of it, but it most certainly is the best."

The boys and Regina chuckled, and Robin stared in complete awe at _his_ family. If he was told just a year ago that he would have a wonderful girlfriend, two boys and a little girl on the way he would've laughed and called them stupid but here he was, proudly staring at his beautiful, growing family and he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, don't forget to review, it makes me happy :)

 ***SPOILER***

So the sequel would revolve more around Regina and Robin as it would be about their honeymoon. Basically, the trip to Thailand is a gift from her parents to them (more will be explained in details in the summary of the new story) As this story is, the sequel would be more of a RomCom (Romantic Comedy) but it will have a dash of drama, not a lot but a bit. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, this journey had been one of hell of a journey but I loved it and I loved all of your support, so thank you so much :) Lots of love, N.R


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Well my Roses, this is the end…and yes, I sang that Adele style while writing this. This makes me really sad, like I'm really really sad because I feel like this story is my baby (I know, I'm weird, I apologize again) anyways without further ado, here's the last chapter, the next one will be the epilogue and then sequel.

 **A/N2:** I wanna thank everyone who motivated me to go through with this, some people might not give a toss and say "Well it's only a fanfiction" but to you it might be, to me it's more and I've been writing so many things for as long as I remember and never once did I finish a story so I'm proud of myself for finishing this but I would've never been able to do without everyone's sweet words and compliments and especially **GinaScrive** , aside from the fact that she kept me sane during writers block, she helped me with most chapters! She gave me around all of the information I needed to make this chapter a good one so if y'all need to thank anyone, thank her because I'm clueless as hell when it comes to the whole birth situation lol. Thank you G, love you, ya bitch.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, i do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine too.

* * *

Time flew by faster than any of them thought was possible, they blinked and it was already August, the end of it too. The 19th to be exact.

The boys were spending their summer by busying themselves with activities, Henry joined a children's book club and Roland decided to join the juniors' soccer team, which started a slight argument between Robin and Regina. It wasn't because of the sport itself, but about what the sport is _called_.

Robin argued that it's called _football_ but Regina insisted that it was _soccer_.

"How!" Robin exclaimed and he had a solid point, why was it _not_ called football? Why was their version of football was called that when they obviously mostly use their hands, and the ball isn't even shaped as one, it looked like a giant chocolate egg.

It didn't make any sense to him, just as why they called their french fries, french fries rather than chips.

"Because it is," Regina argued and he rolled his eyes, of course she'd say that when she doesn't have anything else to say and frankly, he'd grown used to these little arguments. It wouldn't be a normal day in their household if they don't argue over this subject.

Yesterday was about cookies and biscuits, he couldn't wait to see what will it be about tomorrow.

* * *

It was Roland's soccer practice today, they all went to support and cheer him even though he wasn't all that great at it because honestly, who would aim for the ball but kick the air and face plant the ground?

Roland apparently.

But they hugged him, Robin scooped him up over his shoulders and Regina reassured him that he did great, Henry agreed and it took _that_ and a bit of ice cream to finally cheer him up and bring back his dimpled smile over his face.

It was also Roland's turn to choose dinner tonight and he chose spaghetti and meatballs, and because none of them wanted to upset him more than he already was over how his day turned out to be, spaghetti and meatballs it was even though they had it last week.

Regina was busying herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner on her own despite being heavily pregnant and just a couple of weeks away from her due date. Robin offered to help, Henry too but she kicked them out, " _You'll burn down the building_ ," she accused and they both rolled their eyes. She had so little faith in them.

Roland was ignoring them. He had one of Regina's fedora hats on, pretending to be either the airplane itself or a pilot, Robin couldn't really tell. One minute he had his arms spread, running around in circles and mimicking the sound of the airplane's engine and the other he was describing how the sunset or clouds were. Whatever it was, it was adorable.

Henry on the other hand was just as bored as he is, he'd finished the Harry Potter book he and the rest of the book club members decided to read and discuss faster than he intended, leaving him with nothing but Netflix to pass time but he'd gone through all the different genres and nothing caught his attention. Nothing seemed to be interesting enough for him to sit still and watch until dinner's done.

"Henry," Robin called out from the other part of the livingroom, his fingers resting over the black and white keys of the grand piano. It was passed down to him by his grandfather, although it was a little battered and had scratches here and there, he loved it and even if he didn't, he couldn't afford to buy himself a brand new one anyways. Pianos were expensive, especially the grand ones.

The Brit watched as the boy pushed himself off the couch and dragged himself over to him, it made him grin. He knew all too well what boredom could do, perhaps spending quality time with him as a father and son would put them both into a better mood.

"Yeah?"

"So I was thinking about something," Robin said, scooting a little to one side of the bench, he offered the boy the other part of it, "how about we play some piano?" Henry perked up at that.

"Really?" he asked and Robin nodded his head.

"But—" the Brit paused, watching the boy's movements stop as well, his finger resting over the white key of the piano but not pressing, "instead of actually playing a musical piece, I was thinking of pranking Regina." Henry looked at him, his face supporting a confused expression. Prank her with a piano?

"How?" he asked and Robin smirked, although he knew neither Regina nor Roland would be listening to what he'd say, he leaned in and whispered into the boy's ear instead, and Henry grinned.

 **…**

Regina was dumping the meatballs into the marinara sauce when she heard the doorbell go off. Who would be coming to visit them at this time? She raised a questioning brow, "Robin," she called out but there wasn't a respond. She tried again, calling Henry this time but as if the ground had split and swallowed him, he didn't respond either. The brunette huffed and lowered the heat, she turned around and waddled her way out of the kitchen and down the corridor that immediately led to the front door, she unlocked it and twisted the knob, pulling the door open and…no one was there.

She must've imagined the sound then. **It happens**.

While she returned back into the kitchen to finish up the dinner, the muffled laughters behind the piano went unnoticed by her.

 **…**

"Can I try this time?" Henry whispered, looking over at Robin who had his teeth sunk down into his lower lip to stifle a laugh, "I wanna try," Henry insisted and the Brit nodded his head.

They waited a whole minute before reemerging from behind the piano and sitting down onto the bench infront of it, "Okay," Robin said, his voice merely above a whisper, "first you press _this_ key and then _that_ one," he guided the boy, pointing his finger at one key over to the other without actually pressing and making any noise.

"These?" Henry asked, motioning his fingers at the same keys Robin pointed at and the Brit nodded.

The 9 year smiled mischievously and pressed his fingers over the two keys over and over and over again, creating the tune of a doorbell being rang. It was hard to keep quiet but he clasped both his hands over his mouth and hid behind the piano with Robin again, who also found it hard to not laugh, especially when they heard a loud huff and Regina's heavy footsteps. Seeing her waddle like a penguin was even funnier.

"Who is it!" they heard the brunette ask angrily and they knew they were playing with fire at this point but it was too funny to stop, "I swear to God if this is some ding-dong-ditch shit I will find you and I will rip you apart."

At that, Robin lost it.

His laugh was one second away from being heard if it wasn't for Henry's little hands covering his mouth, he could see the boy struggling to contain his own laughter by biting almost painfully into his own lip, his face scrunched up and body shaking with silent giggles.

Regina huffed and puffed like the big ol' mean wolf from the _little red riding hood_ and slammed the door shut, she marched her way back into the kitchen for the second time, mumbling curses under her breath.

"Again?" Henry asked, his green eyes bright and wide, hopeful and his smile spread from ear to ear. How could Robin ever say no to that?

The Brit nodded his head and smiled, and they repeated their little prank again and again until they were caught by Roland who immediately told Regina, who wasn't happy at all.

She scolded both Robin and Henry but as soon as she walked into the kitchen to dish up their plates, they busted in laughter.

Was it worth it? Yes, it was very much worth it.

* * *

Regina was angry at Robin and it was hard not to notice when during the whole dinner she had a fixed glare over him. She ate her food as if she was having a fight with it, roughly chewing onto it and downing her drink like a college student chugging one red cup after another.

Robin had to stuff his mouth with as much food as he possibly could to stop himself from laughing which wasn't a great idea, especially not when Regina attempted to angrily chug down another cup of water but ended up spilling it all over herself, gasping out of surprise when the liquid made its way into her nostrils too.

The Brit spat and there was chewed food all over the dinning table, and unfortunately, some made its way over Regina too. That made her blood boil even more. Robin apologized, he instantly told her how sincerely sorry he is but she ignored him. She grabbed her spoon and scooped up a whole meatball before flinging it over his face, right between his eyes and her scowl disappeared, a bright smile took over.

It made the boys giggle loudly, and she did too. Robin attempted pull straight and serious expression but he failed, a miserably too.

 **...**

"Are they asleep?" Regina asked when Robin entered the bedroom, her voice soft and soothing, her fingertips delicately tapping over her belly, touching the places the baby kicked and pressed against. The Brit nodded his head and smiled, she was a vision just laying infront of him, it was impossible not to fall in love with her.

She was gorgeous, her raven hair had grown a bit ever since she became pregnant, it was just past her shoulders now. Her brown eyes never lost their spark, it only grew with her bump and he still loses himself in them, not that he'd ever complain about that. Her pink plump lips were as soft as the inside of a rose petal, her olive skin, though she'd complained about a few mysterious darker patches caused by her messed up hormones, was still beautiful, smooth like silk and flawless.

He loved her, all of her.

"How are you feeling?" Robin questioned, lifting his gaze from her belly to meet hers, and they smiled.

Her smile was breathtaking too, had he mentioned that before? It could lighten up the whole night and his darkest days.

"Tired," she mumbled, sticking her lower lip out in a pout, "I can't wait until she's here."

"Me neither," Robin confessed, he bent down and pressed his lips just below her belly button, "I can't wait to meet you, princess."

She kicked, as if she was telling him _she couldn't wait to meet him too_.

"Robin?"

The Brit hummed and waited for the rest of her sentence or whatever she planned on saying but instead came a sniffle, it snapped his head up and his eyes met her teary ones. It confused him, was she crying? But, why?

"What's wrong?" he cooed, swiftly making his way beside her and gathering her in his arms, "Regina, sweetheart, what's wrong—"

"I love you."

Her words knocked the air out of his lungs, he stared at her in awe, as if she told him she'd scattered the night sky with the stars.

As if she told him one of the biggest secrets she carried but in a way, she did. No one knew she loved him but herself, and now he does too.

"You…I…love" the Brit stammered and Regina chuckled, nodding her head to confirm his unspoken question.

"I love you," she repeated and tears stung his eyes, tears of pure joy because how could he not be happy to hear the words he'd been longing to hear for a long time?

"I love you too," Robin whispered, crashing his lips over hers in a soft, loving yet passionate kiss.

This was all he ever wanted, and this is was all she ever dreamed of.

* * *

 **03:16AM :** **August 21st 2016, Sunday morning**.

"Robin," the young baker groaned, she reached over and nudged her sleeping pretend-husband. "Robin," she repeated and he stirred, pushing her hand away. A bad move really. "Robin!" Regina exclaimed, startling him awake. **Good**.

"What?" he asked, his voice heavy with sleep. He sat up straight and rubbed a fist over his eyelid, "what?"

"I think the baby's coming," Regina whispered, expecting him to jump up and panic but nothing came from him. She lifted her gaze up and arched a brow seeing him fast asleep again and in a sitting position. This man was impossible. Regina snarled, she rolled up her right sleeve and smacked him across the cheek, startling him awake _again_. "The baby's coming!" she shouted, knowing well her voice would reach the boys' bedroom but at this point, she couldn't focus on anything other than getting to the hospital.

"The baby—" Robin whispered, his mind trying to process the information and in a split second, his eyes grew wide, "the baby's coming!"

 **Finally** , Regina thought. "About time," she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked and when she opened her mouth to answer him, he spoke again, "are you hurting?" she rolled her eyes, "is she coming _now_?" she gave it another try and attempted to speak when she saw him disappear between her legs. Her eyes grew wide and she smacked him around the back of his head.

"What are you doing!" she exclaimed and Robin winced.

"Checking if she's coming."

"She won't come _right now_ , Robin, it takes time!" Regina explained, irritated. Has he not read any of the books she bought months ago? "I'm laboring," she told him, trying to be as calm as she could, "I'm not in great pain, I won't scream and threaten to kill you _yet_ , it's like I'm having faint cramps."

Robin nodded his head as if he understand when in reality, he didn't have a clue. How was he supposed to know what cramps felt like? Yes, he'd been around Emma a few times when she cramped during _that_ time of the month. She usually broke into his house and crashed his couch, claiming hers was too far and she's too tired to drive. She always became whiny — as if she already wasn't. She bossed him around as if he was her servant and she was a long lost princess who no one had ever heard about, but he doubted Regina would feel and act the way his cousin did. He doubted it felt exactly the same as that anyways.

"So, no panicking?" he asked, his voice barely heard but she managed to hear it and chuckle, nodding her head.

"No panicking, just _calmly_ call Emma and let her come over and watch the boys." she said to him and he nodded, repeating what she told him in his head.

Regina watched him disappear out of the bedroom and laid her hand over her bump, soothingly rubbing at it, "You're finally going to grace us with your presence, princess?"

The baby kicked and she smiled but her smile didn't last long when she heard Robin panicking right outside, yelling into the phone and— wait, was he crying? The brunette furrowed her brows, it certainly sounded like he is.

She shook her head and laughed, poking around at her bump, "Your father is one crazy man, my little speck of hope but guess what?" Regina smiled, "I love that crazy man."

* * *

It had taken Emma a bit of time to drag herself out of bed. As excited as she was to finally meet her Goddaughter, it still wasn't easy to get up at 3 in the morning. She wasn't used to this despite her job requiring her to be alert at different times incase she was called in.

She walked into Robin's place and a large paper was slapped onto her palm, written on it all sort of rules and notes Regina prepared. It had her rolling her eyes. Did they really have so little faith in her? How hard could it be taking care of a 5 and a 9 year old?

 _"_ _Call us if anything happens," Regina pleaded her and Emma rolled her eyes again, nudging her friend out of the door._

 _"_ _Just go and come back with my Goddaughter." the blonde told her_

 **…**

 **9 Hours into labor** , her pain was increasing but so far it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, it didn't urge her to scream or squeeze Robin's hand till it breaks. Speaking of her lover, he looked adorable laying beside her on the couch that was included in the room, he seemed peaceful while he slept and thank God for that. He'd been panicking more than she was for the past hours.

She caught him crying a couple of times and she wasn't sure if it was out of joy or because he was scared but he always wiped his eyes and smiled. Showing off his dimples to her, which she hoped their daughter would inherit.

Regina shifted on the bed to get comfortable and groaned when another contraction went through her. This would be a long day but it'll be worth it.

Her water broke a couple of hours ago which progressed her dilation in a quicker pass, it meant stronger pain too but she went through it like a champ. Robin told her and praised her.

 **12 Hours into labor** and it was getting more and more painful by the minute which forced Regina to ask for the epidural. She planned on giving birth without any drugs whatsoever but at this stage, her mind was changed and luckily for her, it not only eased the pain that throbbed through her body but put her to sleep too, and she needed it.

Robin didn't stop hovering over and around her sleeping form ever since he woke up. He would lift the sheets up to her shoulders when the air got chilly and room felt cold, pepper feather-light kisses over her face whenever he'd walk past her and when she stirred in her sleep, a faint whimper or groan passing through her lips, he would rest his hand over her thigh and rub it soothingly. One, to let her know that he was here and two, to comfort her in any possible way.

He hated knowing she was in pain, and dreaded what was yet to come.

He spoke to Emma and kept her updated, he sent text messages to Regina's family members, her parents and her aunt and uncle who didn't live too far from here, letting them know Regina was in labor. Aunt Eva called him back a few minutes after and told him that they will be coming before the baby does and it made the Brit smile. Regina deserved to be surrounded by her family members when they welcome their daughter into this world, and though he was a part of her family too, he knew just how much she wanted either her parents or her aunt and uncle to be here right after. Not having any of them here would devastate her.

He stretched his legs and walked around, peeking out through the window and admiring how the clouds were shaped. To him, they all looked like massive cotton balls but Regina always seemed to find a face or a figure in them, and he loved that. Her imagination is beautiful.

He also passed time catching up with Dr. Bell and chatting with the nurses, he chuckled nervously whenever someone congratulated him and teared up when he was reminded that he will actually become a father in a matter of few hours.

He's going to have a baby girl, and it just didn't feel real. It felt like a dream and what a beautiful dream it was.

 **16 Hours into labor** and aunt Eva and her husband Leo arrived, they carried helium filled balloons and a bouquet of pink roses, a few lilies hidden among them and a card congratulating both of couple on their baby girl.

They entered the room just as Regina finally woke up. Despite the pain she was feeling and the exhaustion that took over her body, she turned her head and looked at them, giving them a bright smile.

"Hi," she whispered, her throat dry and itchy and Robin noticed. He walked over, poured her a cup of lukewarm water and helped her drink it up.

"Hi, sweetheart," aunt Eva greeted, she walked over to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "we wanted to check on you before the doctor comes." She explained and the younger baker nodded, grateful for seeing them.

"Thank yo—" Regina stopped mid-sentence when a contraction jolted through her body, her hand reached out for Robin's and gave it a squeeze. It was a hard one and guilt filled her for it, knowing she most likely hurt him by digging her nails into his hand but she looked up at him and he showed no sign of being in pain instead, he was calm, smiling down at her.

"It's okay," he whispered, using his other hand to push back the dark strands of her hair behind, "you've done wonderful, you've gone through pain _I_ would never be able to handle!" he told her and it wasn't just to praise her for her strength but because it was true. He didn't think he'd be able to handle half of what she'd gone through, and she handled it like a champion.

Rosalyn walked in a few minutes afterward, she checked on the young baker with a gloved hand before announcing that it was time. She was fully dilated to a 10 already.

"Are you ready to meet your daughter?" the doctor asked, smiling toward the nervous couple.

Aunt Eva and uncle Leo were escorted outside by one of the nurses while another prepared Regina for the birth and another was asked by the doctor to accompany Robin and keep him calm. She noticed how sweaty he was getting, he was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and fiddling with the ring on his finger.

The last thing she needed right now was for him to panic, it would only spike a panic in Regina too and it'll make their jobs as the doctors and nurses hard.

It was never easy to deal with a stressed out and a nervous patient.

* * *

"How long would it take?" Robin murmured to the nurse beside him, his eyes fixed over Regina, he couldn't look away.

"Depends, it varies with different women and their situation," the nurse explained, her voice kept soft in a way to keep him calm.

"Like?" he asked, glancing over at her for a split second before Regina's groan forced his attention toward her again.

"We've had cases where some women would give birth the instant their legs are up and parted and some would take to over 15 minutes, some even less." She smiled, gesturing her hand over toward his pretend-wife and the Brit didn't waste a second to be by her side again.

He bent down and kissed her sweaty forehead, "I love you," he reminded her and she mumbled something, words that didn't make sense to him and so he asked, "what's that, baby?"

Bad idea.

The brunette gripped him by the collar of his shirt and stared into his blue eyes, he almost swore he could see fire in her brown ones, she was raging with anger. He swallowed the stubborn lump in his throat and blinked his widened eyes. "I said, I will kill you." She repeated, leaving a dramatic pause in-between each word.

"W—why?"

"Because you put this baby in me!" she screamed, startling him.

He was warned by his friends and Emma too that during birth, some women snap at their partners but he doubted that Regina would do that to him for no reason.

He was wrong.

Rosalyn looked up at him from between Regina's legs, silently assuring him that this was the pain talking and not his wife.

She knew the words could be hurtful for most men but he smiled instead, giving her a nod and letting her know that he wasn't shaken up by Regina's words, well, perhaps she scared the crap out of him but he wasn't hurt by them at least.

The Brit noticed how hard Regina was gripping the sides of the bed, her knuckles were turning white. He pried one hand off of it and laced their fingers together instead, she looked up at him with confusion all over her face, "Squeeze, as hard as you need." He told her and watched her angry expression change into an awe.

"Push when the contraction hits," Rosalyn guided the brunette.

 _One push_

Regina groaned.

 _Second push_

She tightened her hold over Robin's hand.

 _Third push_

She slumped back, heaving in exhaustion, "Get her out of me already," she half whined and snarled at the Brit who looked down at her with wide eyes.

This was a part of Regina he'd never seen and it sure as hell was scary.

He fought the urge to tease her by asking from what horror movie she came out of but if he wanted to keep his hands so he could hold their daughter when she's born, he'd keep quiet.

"You—you're doing great," he stuttered but even that wasn't very helpful, it earned him a death glare. So that's why she's nicknamed the _evil queen_ among her friends.

"You need to push, Regina." Rosalyn told her, causing the brunette to groan and push once again, this time however her yelling wasn't just a sound coming out of her, it was mixed with threats.

"If you ever come near me with that penis of yours again, Locksley, I will rip it off!"

Robin whimpered and placed his free hand infront of his crotch protectively. God, she was more than evil.

"I will kill you," she mumbled, removing her hand from Robin's to reach for his collar again and before he could jump back, she caught him, dragging him until his face was a few inches away from hers. The poor Brit yelped at the force she used, how the hell was she too strong even in this condition? "I will kill you, bring you back to life and kill you again if I could."

He thickly swallowed the lump in his throat, even her voice sounded different, as if she was possessed. What is this and where did his sweet Regina who told him she loved him just two days ago went?

Robin was startled when a scream ripped out of her throat and a hand landed over his face, shoving him away as she pushed. Despite the fear that crept into him because of her, he took a step forward and shakily held her hand.

Man, she owes him a big apology for all the nightmares he'll be having after this.

Regina pushed again and again and again, taking a few moments to catch a breath in-between until the doctor announced the baby was crowning.

"Give me your hand," Rosalyn urged the brunette, hoping that feeling her daughter's head would put her out of the bitter mood she was in so Robin can enjoy seeing their baby enter the world without all the harsh threats. She took Regina's hand and placed it right over the baby's head, "That's your daughter's head."

The young baker's hard shell broke and she was torn between crying and giggling but what the hell, she went ahead and did both. "She has so much hair," she chuckled, no wonder she'd been having heartburns throughout her pregnancy. She reached for Robin's hand and tugged it between her legs, wanting him to experience that too, which might've not been the best idea.

As soon as his hand brushed over the wet head of the baby, he began losing his balance, "Mr. Locksley?" one nurse said from behind him and he was sure Regina called him too but the room spun around him, their voices went from being muffled to nothing at all.

"Slap him," Regina groaned, ready to push again but how could she when she had to make sure her _husband_ wasn't going to faint on them?

"What?" the nurse blinked her eyes, confused.

"Trust me, just slap him."

"But—"

"We wont press charges," the brunette managed a laugh and the nurse nodded, she swallowed hard before striking the Brit across the cheek. She immediately took a step back.

"What?" Robin shook his head, giving everyone in the room a quick glance, "what?"

"I'm not going to faint, my ass." Regina rolled her eyes, mocking him with the reference of the deal they made a couple of months back when he assured her that he will be just fine, that seeing a bit of blood and witnessing the birth wont knock him out.

"I fainted?"

"Almost, now hold my hand so I can push this baby out of me."

Rosalyn made a snorting sound, those two have to be the most interesting couple she'd dealt with yet.

 **…**

She'd been doing nothing but pushing for the past 7 minutes and it felt like eternity instead. But just a few more, Rosalyn promised her, just a couple more pushes and the baby would be here.

She hoped so before she commits a murder, perhaps multiple and starting with Robin.

The head was already out and the doctor commented on how beautiful and squishy the baby's face was. Robin fought the urge to look, knowing well he'd faint if he does and he wasn't ready to lose this bet.

Regina pushed again, in spite of how exhausted she was, she gave it her hardest push and—

"She's here," Rosalyn announced as the baby slipped right into her arms and the most beautiful filled the room, well, screechy, kind of like the engine of a motorcycle being started but still the most beautiful sound the new parents have ever heard.

The loud and wiggly newborn was immediately placed on top of Regina's bare chest. She was tiny, could easily be carried around and handled with just one arm, her head was the size of Robin's fist, if not even slightly smaller but although she was small, she had a strong set of lungs.

That would be a huge problem when it comes to her nighttime necessities, there was no way she wouldn't wake up the neighbors too every night.

"She's beautiful," Robin whispered, tears blurring his vision. He pressed his lips to Regina's sweaty temple then lowered his head to her shoulder, admiring their daughter closely and the brunette leaned her head against his.

All her pain was forgotten and the weariness that took over her body disappeared. She was overfilled with happiness, excited over this new chapter of their lives.

"She is," Regina confirmed, smiling down at the baby who calmed in her embrace, tiny fist being chewed on and light gray eyes wide open, exploring the new world. "Happy birthday, my little speck of hope." The brunette whispered, earning herself a little squeak from the baby.

"So, Muna?" Robin asked and Regina nodded.

They've talked about potential names the day they found out the baby's gender. Robin loved this name and the meaning behind it, and more so knowing it held a special meaning to Regina but she became hesitant about it all the sudden. So the baby went back to being a _little speck_ and sometimes, _little princess_.

"Muna," Regina whispered, tasting the way the name sounded on the tip of her tongue. She smiled, yes, it's perfect. "Middle name?" she gazed up at Robin who squinted his eyes as he thought thoroughly of it.

"Joy," he announced, "I like joy and she—" he reached one hand down and took the baby's little hand in his, stroking the back of it with the pad of his thumb, "she brought loads of joy into our lives already."

"Muna Joy," Regina furrowed her brows, it wasn't the best name she'd come up with but the meanings behind those two names were special to her. It was also unique, that's exactly how her daughter is, unique. She nodded her head and smiled, "But if you ever call her MJ I'm going to kill you."

The Brit snorted out a loud laugh, "Oh come on, it's adorable!"

"No," Regina argued.

"Oh hush," he chuckled, "this is not the time to argue over her nickname, let's just…let's just enjoy this moment for now," he paused, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, "and enjoy our little _MJ."_

"Robin!"

He chuckled and Rosalyn rolled her eyes as she delivered the brunette's placenta. They definitely are the most interesting couple she'd dealt with so far.

* * *

It's been two days since baby Muna or MJ as Robin insists had been born.

 _6lbs 11oz and 18 inches_.

Neither of them were able to look away from her, she was beautiful. The perfect mix of the two of them. It was hard to tell whom she favored more, her features changed everyday. The first day aunt Eva insisted that the baby looked just like Regina when she was born but the day after she was nothing like her mother.

She had a headful of soft, brown hair, not quite as dark as Regina's but not as light as Robin's either. Her eyes weren't brown like her mother's nor were they blue like her father's, they were a light shade of gray which according to Rosalyn, she'll grow to have Robin's eyes. Blue eyes.

That excited Regina, she always wanted her children to have blue eyes but Robin wished they would've been brown instead. However that didn't make her any less perfect.

Regina fed her and changed her diaper and Robin got her in her first outfit, ready to go back home and meet her brothers. He dressed her up in a long-sleeved red bodysuit with the words _Perfect in every way_ written on it in glittery black and leopard print leggings. It was too big on her but he loved it, and Regina knew better than to argue with him.

They kept her warm wrapped in a thick blanket and swaddled securely, her tiny head covered with a beanie Regina crocheted during her free time a while back.

She looked even smaller buried underneath all of these clothes.

They drove back home expecting only Emma and the boys to greet them but they got the surprise of a lifetime when they walked into a crowd instead.

Her parents were there, aunt Eva and uncle Leo too. Her older sister Zelena, her husband Walsh and her barely there but visible bump. Her cousin Mary Margaret also came along with her husband David and their son, Neal but that wasn't all.

Her employees showed up too, Aurora, Ashley and Ruby and just like the others, they didn't come empty handed but it wasn't whatever everyone got her or the baby that caught her attention, it was the long banner announcing and welcoming a baby… _boy_.

"I was in a hurry, I didn't realize I grabbed the wrong gender," Emma explained sheepishly, unaware of the glare sent her way by the two boys who desperately tried telling her the whole time they were at the party center and in the car, that she got the wrong one. "But—" the blonde grinned, gesturing her hand toward the word _Not_ at the end of the arrow drawn after the word _It's_ and before _a boy_. Regina scoffed. "I saw this on _Friends_ and it worked!"

Everyone laughed and Emma grinned, shrugging her shoulders. She seemed proud of herself, so why rip that away from her? Regina chuckled and shook her head. Well, she's right, it worked.

As her parents rushed to meet their first grandchild, Regina was pulled by her employees toward the kitchen island. There was food all over it, from little snacks to boxes of pizza — which, she was certain her boys chose — there was also baked goods, desserts that she could tell weren't from her bakery. It was never on the menu unless of course they changed it while she was at the hospital and they knew better than to do that.

And then there was a big white box in the center of it all, "What's that?" the brunette asked.

"Our surprise!" Ruby beamed.

"Well, we couldn't agree on what to buy her so we decided to bake a cake instead," Aurora explained, shifting her gaze to all three of them, smiling at Ashely who thought of this idea and doodled the design on paper.

"And there isn't a better way than a cake to welcome a baker's daughter, right?" Ruby grinned and Regina chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"We wanted to welcome her into our little family," Ashley winked, referring to how the bakery brought them close together as sisters rather than co-workers. "You ready?" the young baker nodded and watched them remove the top of the box, revealing beneath it a pink ombre cake, tiny little white flowers around the base and small pink roses and other types of flowers placed on top as the final touches. Two wooden sticks shoved into the cake, just inches apart with a white ribbon tied on top of either of them to resemble a tiny banner, a small pink bodysuit shaped paper with the words _Welcome to the family_ written on it hanging in the middle of it. It was Ruby's handwriting, she can recognize that handwriting anywhere.

"That…that's so beautiful," Regina said, smiling from ear to ear.

"It was Ashley's idea!" Ruby exclaimed and Regina chuckled, she hugged the blonde first then moved over to Aurora and saved the last for Ruby. Giving her a big, bear hug.

* * *

Everyone left a couple of hours afterward, Emma was practically kicked out by Robin, she refused to leave the baby's side and she had to work the morning after.

 _"_ _I'll drop by the minute I'm done!"_ she promised before the door was slammed on her face.

God, finally.

They're on their own now.

As much as he loved how big their family had grown to be, he really just wanted to spend time with _his_ family now.

His Regina, his boys and his baby girl.

He also had a surprise of his own for Regina and he couldn't until the boys went to bed.

Robin walked into the bedroom to find Roland curled up by Regina's side, playing with the rings on her finger and Henry gazing down at his sister so lovingly, it swelled Robin's heart with pride. These were his kids, his and Regina's and he couldn't be any happier. He smiled, "You boys planning on going to bed anytime soon?"

They shook their heads.

"Planning on skipping school tomorrow?" Robin asked and they nodded, smiling widely. He chuckled, "Yeah, not happening, now kiss Gina goodnight and off to bed you go."

The boys whined but complied, they kissed Regina's cheeks and the baby's head before wishing them all a goodnight and leaving with pouts over their faces.

If only it wasn't a school night, Robin would've let them stay up a tad longer.

"5 more minutes wouldn't have heard," Regina pouted too, "I miss them."

"You'll see them tomorrow and after tomorrow and the day after that too until they're 18 and get bored of us," he chuckled, pecking her lips softly and sitting down beside her.

"I still miss them though," she argued and he rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to smile at her stubbornness.

"You'll see them in the morning," he told her, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her against his side, he dipped his head and captured her lips in a slow and passionate kiss and she returned it without hesitation.

Their lips moved against one another's for some time and their tongues entwined until they backed for a breath.

"I love you," she whispered and he smiled, as if it was the first time he heard her admitting it out loud but he lost count of the times she repeated them for the past two days.

"I love you too," he smiled, moving his hand to toy with her dark locks. Her hair was getting longer now and the more it grew, the curlier it became and he couldn't complain. It suited her and he loved it. He loved everything about her anyways. "So, I need to tell you something."

She hummed, "What's that?"

"I'm thinking of quitting my job."

Perhaps that wasn't the best way to start a subject. She snapped her head up with such force he thought she might break her neck.

"What?"

There goes all his confidence.

"It's not what you think, just hear me out, okay?"

Regina glared at him but nodded, "Fine," this man will be the death of her one day.

"Don't freak out and don't snap at me," he said almost pleadingly and she huffed, he was testing her patience.

"Fine, Robin."

He bit back a smile and tilted his head to the side, resting it over hers before removing the hand that swirled her hair around his finger and placed it over hers, "I'm not quitting just _yet_ but I'm thinking about it." Her fingers stopped fiddling with the ring on his, he could feel her staring at him but chose to ignore. If he looks at her, he wouldn't be able to tell her what he wants to and would stutter; this wasn't the time for it.

"And?"

The Brit exhaled heavily, his lips parted but no words came out. Great, he lost his confidence now. Instead of explaining by words, he reached for the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a book, Regina furrowed her brows at it.

What did a book have anything to do with him wanting to quit his job, it didn't make sense!

"Robin—"

He hushed and placed the book in her hands, "Read."

 _The Beginning_.

The young baker furrowed her brows in confusion, she read a title similar to this one ages ago but she couldn't point her finger to when and where it was that she did, "Do you expect me to read the whole story right now?" she whined and Robin sighed.

She really didn't get it did she?

"Look at the author's name," he muttered.

Could he make it any more obvious?

"Robin—" she stopped, her eyes wide as she looked at him, "Robin Locksley!"

He nodded his head and watched her look back down at the book in her hands, her grip a little tighter now that she realized what this was. Her confusion was replaced by happiness and excitement, she let out a gleeful chuckle and looked at him again.

"H—how!"

"I did as you told me and never gave up," he smiled, "I rewrote my story when we adopted the boys because…because they were the little push I needed." Regina's eyes watered, she dropped the book on the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

She was so proud of him and she let him know by whispering those words into his ear.

They both have come so far and if they were both told just a year ago that they will be here, deeply in love with one another and with three children, they would've laughed.

Because _he_ never thought he could impress women, his looks were one thing but when he opened his mouth women changed their minds. They wanted a man with a strong personality who could flirt back with them, they wanted a man with tattoos and sport cars and that wasn't him.

And _she_ never thought she'd fall in love after what Daniel had done to her, she never thought there would be a man who would love her for who she truly is, accept her every flaw but she found him, and he found her and together, they found home with three precious children.

This wasn't their happy ending.

This is the beginning.

* * *

 **A/N:** I need a moment to realize this story is over lol but while I do that, thank you so much for reading, please don't forget to review, I love reading your reviews also, if anyone is interested on seeing how the cake looks like you can search it on **Twitter** using the hashtag IGWABCake, you can also follow my account if you want, I fangirl over Lana, a lot!

Lots of love,

Nona A


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Here's the very last chapter of this story, the epilogue. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters or the song mentioned in this chapter. However, I do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine too.

—

* * *

 **Every family has a story to tell.**

 **Welcome to ours.**

* * *

Two years passed by, no, scratch that.

Two years _flew_ by and he could hardly believe it.

He could've sworn it was just yesterday that Regina gave birth to their daughter but yesterday was the 3rd day after little MJ's 2nd birthday instead and just like her mother, she loved Snow White and insisted on her birthday theme being something out of a fairytale.

Who were they to argue with _her highness_?

Regina planned it two months ahead and the boys helped along by throwing whatever ideas they had, no matter how small they might be, and they had a lot. Especially Henry.

Although Roland's imagination was showed earlier and more often by pretending to have superpowers to claiming the floor is lava, Henry's imagination was shown through his arts, his creativity. He was an artist, as Robin called him. When he's not rushed, when's focused and in environment he felt the most relaxed in, the boy creates masterpieces.

Just like Regina does with her cakes.

Of course, she'd always been great at creating and designing beautiful ones but he noticed, when she's alone in the kitchen with the music blasting through, she'd created the most wonderful things he'd ever seen.

Their daughter's cake included.

She challenged herself and created a three tiers cake, she even used fondant instead of buttercream frosting. Anyone who knew her would know just how much she despise fondant. There wasn't anything about it that she liked, she hated rolling it, shaping it and even the taste of it.

Instead of her basic 4 thick layers of sponge cakes, Regina used 6 thin layers. Each was a different color of the rainbow. It was beautiful.

The whole cake was.

She hand painted small fondant canvases, drawing silhouettes of dancing disney couples that included Cinderella and her prince at the very bottom tier, they were colored in a light shade of blue, beside them were Aurora and her prince too, colored in burgundy. Her favorite color. Well, _one_ of her favorite colors.

The 2nd tier carried 4 other canvases, one less than the one beneath it. It included their daughter's first obsession. Rapunzel and Flynn, both painted in green and on the other side of it was Belle and her Beast in yellow but it was the very top tier that was unusual.

One side had hers and their daughter's favorite couple, Snow White and her Prince Charming in purple but the other had _his_ all time favorite.

Them, well, kind of.

You see, he always teased her about being an _evil queen_. A nickname stuck to her because of his cousin, Emma. It was only fair she comes up with something of her own for him too but, although she might be creative when it comes to baking, she wasn't all that good with nicknames but she settled for Robin Hood.

It fit him well, although he didn't steal from the rich to give the poor, he most certainly stole her heart and well, he _is_ called Robin Locksley and she wasn't the first one to mock him with that nickname but eventually it grew on him and there it was. The last canvas. Their love.

The Evil Queen and a non-animated version of Robin Hood she based off him, painted in gold.

It would forever be his all time favorite couple.

* * *

 _She spins and she sways to whatever song plays_

 _Without a care in the world_

 _And I'm sitting here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders._

Robin sang, he always sang to his children and Regina too but mostly their daughter. She enjoyed it the most.

He cradled her head as she laid it over his shoulder, one thumb stuck between her lips and her blue eyes closed after a long battle of trying to keep them open.

 _It's been a long day and there's still work to do_

 _She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you"_

 _There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited_

 _and I need to practice my dancin'_

 _Oh please, daddy, please."_

She whined and lifted her head, fighting her sleep again so he ran his fingers through her tangled, chocolate brown curls and spun her around in his arms.

 _So I will dance with Cinderella_

 _While she is here in my arms_

 _'_ _Cause I know something the prince never knew_

 _Oh I will dance with Cinderella_

 _I don't want to miss even one song_

 _'_ _Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight_

 _And she'll be gone_

He trailed off with a soft hum as her weight became heavier on him. He knew she finally fell asleep and continued humming the tune of the song for a few more moments before loud footsteps echoed through the hallway, making its way toward the nursery.

 **Roland** , he smiled. He'd recognize those footsteps anywhere.

"Dad!" the boy rushed in before being silenced by the Brit holding one finger over his lips. He glanced over at his sleeping sister and apologized, grinning sheepishly.

"What?" Robin whispered and Roland motioned his finger over toward the window.

"It's raining, mom says come." He whispered and the Brit nodded his head. Letting him know that he will be there in a moment.

The 7 year old smiled, he nodded and ran out of the bedroom, and Robin gently laid MJ down in her _big girl's_ bed. He tucked her in securely and watched her stir, turn around and wrap her little arm around her two favorite stuffed toys. The sock bunnies her brothers made.

He kept the door open incase she wakes up. She wasn't the type that would cry if she doesn't find anyone after waking up, she would simply get up and wander to look for them but she couldn't reach the door's handle just yet.

Robin walked down the hallway and smiled, hearing a faint sound of music coming from the small backyard the townhouse had. It wasn't much but they would finally move out of this place soon. Just a few more days and they will move to Regina's dream house.

A two-story house by the countryside of England with a white fence just as she wanted. It was far from her bakery but she was expanding her business therefore she finally agreed on trusting Aurora with _that_ branch. She was still hesitant but everyone assured her that everything will be okay.

"I just can't smile without you," Robin sang along, smiling widely and baring his dimples as he wrapped his arms around her from behind,

"And now you know I can't smile without you," Robin sang along, smiling and baring his dimples as he wrapped his arms around Regina from behind. "I can't smile without you, I can't laugh and I can't sing

 _And you know I can't smile without you._

Robin sang along, smiling and baring his dimples as he wrapped his arms around Regina from behind, making her smile too.

 _I can't smile without you_

 _I can't laugh and I can't sing_

 _I'm finding it hard to do anything_

 _You see I feel sad when you're sad_

 _I feel glad when you're glad_

 _If you only knew what I'm going through_

 _I just can't smile_

He swayed with her in his arms, sneaking soft kisses to her neck whenever the boys turned away and played under the rain.

"I love you," she whispered, her grin spread across her face. She reached behind one hand and caressed his cheek while laying the other over the one that rested over her stomach.

"I love you too," he kissed her shoulder and smiled, slowly moving with her to the soft tune of the acoustic version of one of their favorite songs.

They became quiet for a few minutes, just silently observing their boys and how happy they seemed to be, it made them happy too. Most mothers would scold her children when they'd play under the rain but Regina never did, how could she when she herself loved playing underneath it too?

It made her feel alive.

"My mom always told me that wishes come true in the rain." She said.

"So what did you wish for?" he asked.

Without speaking another word, she answered his question by looking at him with a smile, and he knew.

He wished the same, even though their wish had already came true ages ago.

They found each other.

* * *

 **A/N:** If anyone's interested in the songs. The first one is **Cinderella** by **Steven Curtis Chapman** and the second one is **Can't Smile Without You** by **Barry Manilow**. Please don't forget to review, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this :)

Sequel should be started in a few months, meanwhile I'm writing another story called **Operation Creating Hope** if anyone would like to read it!


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** This is a very short **OS** chapter. It wasn't planned and I wasn't considering writing any more for _this_ fanfiction but given by the circumstances, I thought that we might need a bit of fluff to get by, so enjoy this please and remember, if anyone wishes to speak, I'll happily listen. I'll list my Twitter by the end of this chapter.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters. However, i do own the idea behind this story and the characters that are **unknown** to the Once fandom, also, mistakes are mine too.

* * *

It's been a month since they moved into their new home, it was everything Regina dreamt of. It was big but perfect for their growing family. No, she wasn't pregnant, not yet at least however they did plan on trying for another baby later in the near future. After all, she did love a big family, and the more the merrier, right?

MJ had just turned 2 not long ago, Roland was 7 and Henry's 12th birthday was just a couple of months away. Neither of Regina or Robin believed that their eldest would be a teenager within the next year. It was crazy!

But it saddened Regina. She spent a whole week being emotional over it, crying whenever she got the chance and it made Robin wonder if she was pregnant again but it turned it was just _that_ time of the month. Nonetheless, he spoiled her with her favorite food, favorite movies and he even gave her a manicure and pedicure session at home, which wasn't the wisest idea because right then and there he discovered just how badly he was when it comes to painting nails. But seeing his struggle with that put a smile on Regina's face and well, it was worth every second of it and it was worth ruining his favorite sweat pants too.

He was working on another book, a sequel to his previous one. It was never his intention to write a collection of them although he thought of it but then his _biggest fans of all_ — his family — begged him to and who was he to tell them no? He couldn't, not when they all ganged up against him and gave him their best puppy eyes expression, MJ included — that little naughty thing. Just like her mother.

"Dad!" Roland screamed, followed by an overly excited 2 year old screaming _daddy_ too. "It's raining!" He giggled and MJ managed a sentence that sounded the same but not quite. What was it with them being so in love with the rain and storms? They were just like Regina. Sane people would stay inside, they would be bundled up in blankets, sipping hot cocoa by the fireplace but not them. They ran outside and played everytime it rained, and they never caught a flu from it — **knock on wood**.

 _Their mother's children_ , Robin scoffed with a smirk on his face. "Is your mom outside already?" He asked, prying is attention away from the laptop screen and looking over at his two youngest, both nodding their heads rapidly, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, you two go ahead and I'll be right there behind you." He promised, playfully scrunching up his nose and smiling as they giggled their way out of his office, down the hallway and down the stairs. Leaving a sweet echo behind.

He saved whatever he had written so far and closed the laptop, removing his reading glasses and setting it aside, somewhere out of MJ's reach. She had an obsession with glasses, whether they were his and Regina's reading ones or just glasses in general. He never questioned from whom she'd gotten that because it was all too obvious. Her mother. She owned hundreds of them (not really, but not less than 50 for sure.)

As he got closer to the backyard, their laughters and squeals got louder, bringing a smile to his face. He stood on the back porch, leaning forward against the white railing, watching them play under the rain. After all these years, he still couldn't believe this was his reality, he truly had been blessed and for that, he'll forever be grateful.

"Robin!" Regina called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her sweater and leggings drenched, her shoulder-length hair sticking to her neck and cheeks, and there wasn't a trace of makeup on her face but she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "Come here," she urged, grabbing both his wrists and tugging him under the rain with her, dampening him before the raindrops poured over him.

He laughed out loud and she mimicked him out of happiness, "It's cold!" He complained and she rolled her eyes at him. For a man who lived all his life in a cold country, he didn't like the cold at all but she couldn't blame him, she lived in New York and it was colder. She's used to more than he is.

"I know," Regina whispered teasingly, moving her hands from his wrists to his chest and all the way up to the collar of his shirt, she gave him a tug and met him halfway when he leaned in, brushing her lips over his. They shared a sweet and a soft kiss that ended too soon but only for the sake of their children who were not too far, they didn't want to traumatize them. Well, Roland at least. He was at that age where he believed girls had cooties.

"You're beautiful," Robin complimented, bumping his nose playfully against hers and although her cheeks were already a light shade of pink because of the cold weather, they became redder at his words. "I love you," he whispered but she didn't return it, only smiled wider. **Oh so that's how it's going to be again**. "I love you," he repeated, moving his face closer to her neck, he nuzzled it, tickling her at the same time as he repeated his words again and again and again until she gave in, giggling and wrapping her arms around him, whispering _I love you too_.

It rained a little heavier for a brief moment but that didn't stop them, even their littlest one seemed to be enjoying the rain and the sound of thunder just as much as everyone else.

"Listen to me calling from above!" Regina exclaimed when the thunder rolled, bringing the attention of her boys to her. She stood up on one of the benches in the garden and grinned as they giggled and laughed, and Robin snorted. "I am Zeus!" She thickened her voice and stood straight, chest puffed up with pride. "I control the weather and I am not afraid of any— _thing_!" The brunette screeched the last part of the word when she felt something nudge at her legs, causing her to fall forward and face-plant the ground. Henry gasped, Roland giggled and MJ too but although he tried not to, Robin laughed and rushed to help her up.

"You okay there, _Zeus_?" He teased.

"Shut up," she said, gritting her teeth in anger and narrowing her eyes at Remington, the mutt they adopted from the shelter almost a year ago. He panted and stared at her, almost grinning at his doing. Of course he'd be proud of himself.

* * *

All clean and dried, warmed up in their pajamas, the Locksley's gathered in the livingroom, blankets over them and cups of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows in each one's hand. It was Regina _secret_ recipe — which all of them knew but only those within the household. It was warm, chocolatey and just perfect, as Robin says. They had **Minions** playing on the TV, enjoyed by the two younger ones while the older one divided his attention to it and to texting new close friend, Violet.

Robin often teased him about it but Henry brushed it off, although blushing, he claimed he only liked her as a friend.

The young baker scooted closer and curled up in her fiancé's embrace, inhaling his piney scent that always brought her calmness and soothed her. She placed her head over his beating heart and smiled, "I love you," she said and he ran his fingers through her tangled up hair.

"I love you too," he told her, just like he'd been doing for the past 2 years and a half.

Just like he plans on doing for as long as he lives because with everyday that passed by, his love for her only grew more and more and more.

* * *

 **A/N** : I hope y'all enjoyed this. Twitter is **Nona_AM**.

Lots of love,

N.R


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